Don't be a bad girl, be a good girl

First off, I really enjoyed "Making An About-Face," because this article spoke so much truth that is so easy to relate to. This one line I definitely felt a connection to, "In preparation for womanhood, she has been trained, by her mother, magazines, and manners to be a good (i.e., compliant, orderly, quiet), and willing participant in the ideology of preferred femininity." I love that part, because all growing up my parents would always tell me to act like a lady, or that boys don't like that, every time i burped, or did anything that was "un-lady like." In fact they still do that, but now I just don't care and I do what I want. But magazines and t.v. definitely tell you how to be a lady, even if your mother doesn't reinforce those manners everyday. 

Next up, I adore what Rebecca Walker said in Driscoll (2002) as she describes a ""rigid ideological second wave feminism" that doesn't fit anymore: Constantly measuring up to some cohesive fully down-for-the-feminist-cause identity without contradictions and messiness and lusts for power and luxury items is not a fun or easy task...For many of us it seems that to be a feminist in the way we have seen or understood feminism is to conform to an identity and way of living that doesn't allow for individuality, complexity, or less than perfect personal histories. (p. 136) (Making an About-Face)"" This is definitely what Third Wave is all about, having multiple identities make up one huge movement. If we were all the same the dynamics, we would not be as effective to change our society that we live in. As much as First and Second Wave did, which was TONS, we as Third Wave have many other outlets to transform, and we need to target young girls early before the media brain washes them (as well as us) anymore than they already have.

And this brings me into my next point, the internet can definitely be used to help girls come into their own, and to learn a lot at an early age. This can show them more than what is in the mainstream spotlight. There's a paragraph in "About Face" that states perfectly how girls are targeted as consumers, it says, "Second, the ascension of Jammer Girl coincides with girls' access to the Internet. Unlike teen girl magazines that continue to emphasize beauty, consumerism, and passive interaction with the medium, the Internet allows girls to interact, interpret, and negotiate their world. For example, whereas magazines such as Seventeen emphasize music, "girls are provided with no information about how to set up a band, nor are they encouraged to learn to play an instrument" (Kearney, 1998, p. 291). They are hailed as consumers of music, not as makers of music. The World Wide Web provides an avenue for girls to speak out about their refusal to accept "the established story of a woman's life" (Brown, 1991, p. 72)." This statement is so true, because girls are never encouraged do to things that are just good for them to do, it is always to either get the boy, or to be popular. Girls definitely need a space for them to talk and be open, and to have encouragement to do so. Whether they are a "good/bad girl," there needs to be an open forum for this purpose. Girls need to understand that there is no such thing as only a "good girl," or only a "bad girl," everyone is a little bit of both. Even though, "The Internet is also a place where girls can enjoy a sense of freedom and a sense of control. Gruber (2003, p. 160) points out "Cyberspace is a place that allows for the 'complex and shifting play of body, self, and community." By having this community, there is a wider range of alternative outlets such as A-F.org, Riot Grrrls, and also zines. The internet can release this information to the girl that is still part of mainstream, that can experience something way better.  

.:Andrea:.

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