www.thesesitesrock.com

By Anonymous -

Although I usually don’t like reading extensively on line, I’m glad our homework was to visit these websites because Jill and I are going on an internet strike starting tomorrow for an entire week!!! That’s like a year in internet time!

Anyway. New Moon did rule. I think this line stood out to me the most: “We recognize that no one is more expert at being a girl than girls themselves…” This is an important message to the rest of the world to be reminded of, and especially to young girls themselves who are constantly being told that they don’t know what they want-or they’re too young to understand. I strongly feel that if young women have the intellect to ask certain questions, they certainly have the power to face the answers (which these answers shouldn’t be so scary and negative to approach anyway). And it was incredible to watch the short video of Orb 28 brainstorm about their upcoming blog. It was refreshing to see girls shown in the light of confidence and cooperation rather than in a catty gossip circles.

I was weary of girlsinc.org because I thought it was going to be a different website which spouts feminist agendas while simultaneously acting as a more scrutinizing version of myspace for young girls (you can post pictures of your style, which the other girls tear it apart). Unfortunately, I couldn’t re-find that site but I’ll keep looking. I suppose I entered girlsinc.org with an extra critical view because I was also hesitant about the categories such as “Bold Girl” or “Smart Girl” because I was afraid that this could potentially further segregate young girls by being label-focused. But I don’t think this is the case at all. Although individuals will of course identify with one category more than the other due to unique interests, all categories share a sense of empowerment and need to stick together! Several topics called for unification such as “Starting your own club” or donating to Hurricane Katrina victims.

The other two websites were certainly great resources too, but I liked how New Moon and girlsinc.org appealed to a younger age. I sometimes forget that the computer is not solely an adult toy or tool anymore.

Comments

Ariel Dansky said…
Just out of curiousity, may I ask why are you two going on internet strike?
November 16, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Anonymous said…
i was using the internet for all of wrong reasons for a long time. i felt like i was growing dependent on it-and let's face it, i already have enough vices. jill and i both thought that we should live life in the flesh more and entertain other tools as our resources for school or independent projects (like the library...whoa!).

i kinda have to do things in extremes, so that's why i'm going cold-turkey (except for online homework), and am grateful to have a partner for support in this endeavor.
November 17, 2008 at 8:15 PM
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