i need mah space!

OK, I'm not super great at quoting an article that quotes something else...but..."These girls "are ashamed for being too sexual, too loud, too boisterous, too big (in any sense of the word)" (Kilbourne, 1999, p. 133)." This is taken from the article "Making and About-Face: Jammer Girls and the World Wide Web." I think this line is SO important in the lessons we are learning this week. To me, this line translates into grrrlz and womyn needing space. We need safe space, fun space, space where we feel we can be "too sexual, too loud, too boisterous, too big". This space has not ever really been provided to us.

I think body language is such an interesting thing. And one of my favorite things is watching female bodied people and male bodied people interact around one another. Male bodies tend to spread out more when they sit, females try to scrunch themselves up to fit into some kind of invisible box. Males try to command rooms with their voices and gestures whereas females do the opposite. Grrrlz and womyn are told from the moment we are socialized that we are too much, and we need to tone it down. I loved how in the movie we saw last class, "Feisty Girls, Spirited Women" the people did not back down into the submissive stereotype that we are told to conform to. This womyn and grrrlz knew how they wanted to lead their lives and went out and did it, with no regrets.

I think we as womyn and grrlz should start demanding safe space where we are able to properly express ourselves. None of us are "good" or "bad". These outrageous standards that we are supposed to meet are only set there to make us try our whole lives to achieve them so that we will never ever think about anything else. If we spend all of our time thinking about that perfect lipstick we will never think of the animals it is tested on. If we spend all of our time counting the calories for every piece of food entering our mouths we will never think about the lives of the people working in shitty conditions so we can eat it. If we spend all of our time thinking about the right outfit to wear then we will never think of where the cloth came from, who made it, and how it got to us. AND if we spend all of our time thinking about how to be perfect then we will NEVER think about social justice, building a movement, and revolution.

<3
kathryn

Comments

niki_lc said…
"AND if we spend all of our time thinking about how to be perfect then we will NEVER think about social justice, building a movement, and revolution." So true! Thats part of the problem with the media, it keeps our minds to occupied to focus on anything important. I think thats why its so important just to make people aware of why they are thinking about the things they are.
p.s. love the womyn!!!
amanda said…
It's impossible for us to change the priorities women have in life so we need to change society. As long as society tells women they have to be either good or bad and they must look a certain way then they will. We need to change our priorities and go against what society wants of us, maybe then more women will do the same and we'll start a cultural revolution!
carly mac said…
What you said about womyn and grrlz needing space is so true. That's why I think it's great that we have the technology we do today so that girls can take up as much space as they want on the web. They will never be judged by how they look or how loud they talk or how much space their body takes up because none of those things matter in a virtual space. Instead all you get is exactly what the girl wants you to see and read. It's a great way for girls to communicate to the world without the restrictions put upon them in the real world

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