Sooo tell me what you want what you really, really want.
Growing up, I definitely had a relationship with pop culture. It did not control my life or dominate all of my activities. It was just very prevalent in my childhood. I think growing up with two sisters, and no brother is a big reason as to why pop culture was in my life. My sisters are only two years younger than me (yes, twins) so we found it easy to relate and play when we were younger.
Ten years ago, the Spice Girls were big. They had a clothing line, candy, Barbie dolls, and much more. You name it, they had it. My sisters and I loved their music, and everything about them. So did every other elementary school girl we knew. I remember my sisters, and my two cousins and I would each be assigned a Spice Girl, and we would have to play that role for the day. I would always be Sporty Spice which seems kind of ironic considering I have grown up to be the least athletic person I know. But, that’s beside the point. The Spice Girls were there before I had an interest in boys, and they were my idols. They were the epitome of what cool was.
Boys got rid of their cooties around middle school. That’s when the Backstreet Boys and N’sync were running the pop culture world. This is when I learned what it was to have a crush on boys. My sisters and I learned their dances, and hung their posters on our walls. In that sense, we were maturing and learning that it is okay to like boys.
In high school, the words to songs seemed to get more promiscuous, or maybe I was just able to understand the innuendoes by then. I learned what “sexy” really was, or at least what the pop society considered to be sexy. In 9th grade I played around with revealing clothing, and then discovered that really was not for me. In the television aspect, I do not believe that TV really has had an influence on who I have become.
Being in college, the magazine, Cosmopolitan, has a significant impact on my life. I do not have the greatest fashion sense, and Cosmo helps me out with that. When it comes to guys, the only things I take into consideration are the pieces of advices from actually men. Its interesting to see what they are thinking, and hear their perspective on things.
I would say I went through a lot of phases growing up, but one I never went through was the “emo” phase. In “Red” one girl talks about how she wasn’t in a group so she felt emo. She said “see, I go to a school where if you aren’t a jock or a cheerleader, outside your circle, you aren’t worth anything talking to” (Red, 214). I didn’t really have a specific group. I was more of a floater and had friends from all of the different cliques.
Pop culture was not the main source of my development, and neither was the group of people I hung out with. I believe I am who I am because a series of experiences, different relationships, learning things from pop culture, environmental factors, and my upbringing. However, it really was fun pretending to be a Spice Girl. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories.
As far as homosexuality for females goes, I was reading in Queer Girls how much pop culture and introducing female homosexuality to the television has helped them. The book even stated something along the lines of how lots of queer girls would have killed themselves by now if it weren’t for the help of the TV (Queer Girls, 58). I can see how movies could help a young girl trying to discover herself. It could provide more confidence, and show that they are not the only one who has gone through those feelings.
Ten years ago, the Spice Girls were big. They had a clothing line, candy, Barbie dolls, and much more. You name it, they had it. My sisters and I loved their music, and everything about them. So did every other elementary school girl we knew. I remember my sisters, and my two cousins and I would each be assigned a Spice Girl, and we would have to play that role for the day. I would always be Sporty Spice which seems kind of ironic considering I have grown up to be the least athletic person I know. But, that’s beside the point. The Spice Girls were there before I had an interest in boys, and they were my idols. They were the epitome of what cool was.
Boys got rid of their cooties around middle school. That’s when the Backstreet Boys and N’sync were running the pop culture world. This is when I learned what it was to have a crush on boys. My sisters and I learned their dances, and hung their posters on our walls. In that sense, we were maturing and learning that it is okay to like boys.
In high school, the words to songs seemed to get more promiscuous, or maybe I was just able to understand the innuendoes by then. I learned what “sexy” really was, or at least what the pop society considered to be sexy. In 9th grade I played around with revealing clothing, and then discovered that really was not for me. In the television aspect, I do not believe that TV really has had an influence on who I have become.
Being in college, the magazine, Cosmopolitan, has a significant impact on my life. I do not have the greatest fashion sense, and Cosmo helps me out with that. When it comes to guys, the only things I take into consideration are the pieces of advices from actually men. Its interesting to see what they are thinking, and hear their perspective on things.
I would say I went through a lot of phases growing up, but one I never went through was the “emo” phase. In “Red” one girl talks about how she wasn’t in a group so she felt emo. She said “see, I go to a school where if you aren’t a jock or a cheerleader, outside your circle, you aren’t worth anything talking to” (Red, 214). I didn’t really have a specific group. I was more of a floater and had friends from all of the different cliques.
Pop culture was not the main source of my development, and neither was the group of people I hung out with. I believe I am who I am because a series of experiences, different relationships, learning things from pop culture, environmental factors, and my upbringing. However, it really was fun pretending to be a Spice Girl. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories.
As far as homosexuality for females goes, I was reading in Queer Girls how much pop culture and introducing female homosexuality to the television has helped them. The book even stated something along the lines of how lots of queer girls would have killed themselves by now if it weren’t for the help of the TV (Queer Girls, 58). I can see how movies could help a young girl trying to discover herself. It could provide more confidence, and show that they are not the only one who has gone through those feelings.
Comments
this brought out a horrible repressed memory :P