Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song :)
"I realized there is something to be scared of - but even more to excited about changing, conquering" (Goldwasser 265). These are the words of 19-year-old Carla Perez-Gallardo who writes breathlessly of her desire to impart change in this world in her essay "To Do." I start this week's post with this quote because it speaks so acutely to the feeling I experienced when confronting my own beliefs and personhood through various creative outlets, most importantly writing. For young girls in contemporary society there is so much to fear in getting involved in communities and putting the real self 'out there' for others to see and know. Yet it is a vital part of experiencing and feeling out who exactly that 'real self' is. The importance of allowing girls to live through creativity is no more obvious than in the lit-up eyes of Ruby, the 7 and 3/4-year-old girl who has already written a book about feminism and shared her creativity with Amy Poehler and the rest of the gang on a segment of the Smart Girls at the Party series. Though only in the third grade Ruby exudes a confidence and determination that is only nurtured by a home environment in which her voice means something, in which her opinion is valued, listened to and is encouraged by adults in her life.
For some girls, however, this creative outlet is one not nurtured in the home. Rather it is discovered, most often in adolescence, through outside resources, most often the Internet. This is the case with the queer girls Susan Driver studies and writes about in her book Queer Girls and Popular Culture. Driver notes the distinct online presence GLBTQ girls have, a presence that ranges from personal blogs, to collective Web sites and photo galleries where the girls "try out, play with, and perform their identities and desires through provisional combinations of images, words and narratives" (Driver 170). As for queer girls, the Internet provides an accessible medium for all girls to express themselves by starting blogs or joining sites where common interests spawn intellectual discourse as well as emotional support. Amy Poeher's Smart Girls at the Party series is one example of the Internet's effectiveness as a creative outlet, as well as the I KISS GIRLS Web site for lesbian youth that Driver details in her book. In this very class I continue to write in our public blog because our message has more of a chance of reaching out to the young woman who thirsts to participate in the type of feminist conversation that she may not hear enough of in her immediate community.
While the Internet is a useful tool for establishing creative communities for young girls I think it is important to continue establishing more personal endeavors that foster girl to girl and girl to woman relationships and creative exploration. As noted by Driver, online communities are driven largely by images and girls post pictures of themselves to garner support from commentators who note how "sexy," "adorable" or "mmmm very cute!" the girl appears (Driver 189). While this process works to "reverse and displace the negative perceptions and invisibility of masculine girls in mass media" for the birl girls of Driver's studies, I worry that the anonymity of the Internet as well as its image-driven nature puts across a message that appearance means more than words. Sure, the images spark important conversations about sexuality, gender norms, politics as well as personal dilemmas and thereby extend a community to the person. But I think the creation of face-to-face support groups and creative outlets that involve interaction are still very much important. The fact that this type of outlet is not available for all girls across the nation is something that needs to be addressed. What if I KISS GIRLS established chapters across the country for its Web site members to meet through? The Internet community should bolster the non-virtual community in most cases.
At the end of the day, though the important part of allowing girls to speak about their lives and loves and question their world is key in dismantling many of the constructs that bind them to overwhelming societal standards like standards of purity outlined by Jessica Valenti in The Purity Myth. Valenti illustrates a tough world for girls in her book but I like her determination to fight 'traditional' values that hurt women. As Valenti relates, "challenging a culture that respects young women so little doesn't have to be a larger-than-life mission. We can chip away at it, bit by bit" (Valenti 204). The key in chipping away is allowing our girls to have voices and a creativity that, as Dani Cox writes in her essay "Ms. President," allows them to "find the extra in each of our ordinary lives so that we can make a positive impact on the world we live in" (Goldwasser 230). Like the queer youth quoted throughout Driver's book, all young women "want to be heard, understood, and respected. They want their words to have broader social significance, to be part of a bigger picture in which their experiences and perspectives are taken seriously" (Driver 180). As feminists with a teensy bit more experience under our belt our number one priority needs to be nurturing these girls' voices.
For some girls, however, this creative outlet is one not nurtured in the home. Rather it is discovered, most often in adolescence, through outside resources, most often the Internet. This is the case with the queer girls Susan Driver studies and writes about in her book Queer Girls and Popular Culture. Driver notes the distinct online presence GLBTQ girls have, a presence that ranges from personal blogs, to collective Web sites and photo galleries where the girls "try out, play with, and perform their identities and desires through provisional combinations of images, words and narratives" (Driver 170). As for queer girls, the Internet provides an accessible medium for all girls to express themselves by starting blogs or joining sites where common interests spawn intellectual discourse as well as emotional support. Amy Poeher's Smart Girls at the Party series is one example of the Internet's effectiveness as a creative outlet, as well as the I KISS GIRLS Web site for lesbian youth that Driver details in her book. In this very class I continue to write in our public blog because our message has more of a chance of reaching out to the young woman who thirsts to participate in the type of feminist conversation that she may not hear enough of in her immediate community.
While the Internet is a useful tool for establishing creative communities for young girls I think it is important to continue establishing more personal endeavors that foster girl to girl and girl to woman relationships and creative exploration. As noted by Driver, online communities are driven largely by images and girls post pictures of themselves to garner support from commentators who note how "sexy," "adorable" or "mmmm very cute!" the girl appears (Driver 189). While this process works to "reverse and displace the negative perceptions and invisibility of masculine girls in mass media" for the birl girls of Driver's studies, I worry that the anonymity of the Internet as well as its image-driven nature puts across a message that appearance means more than words. Sure, the images spark important conversations about sexuality, gender norms, politics as well as personal dilemmas and thereby extend a community to the person. But I think the creation of face-to-face support groups and creative outlets that involve interaction are still very much important. The fact that this type of outlet is not available for all girls across the nation is something that needs to be addressed. What if I KISS GIRLS established chapters across the country for its Web site members to meet through? The Internet community should bolster the non-virtual community in most cases.
At the end of the day, though the important part of allowing girls to speak about their lives and loves and question their world is key in dismantling many of the constructs that bind them to overwhelming societal standards like standards of purity outlined by Jessica Valenti in The Purity Myth. Valenti illustrates a tough world for girls in her book but I like her determination to fight 'traditional' values that hurt women. As Valenti relates, "challenging a culture that respects young women so little doesn't have to be a larger-than-life mission. We can chip away at it, bit by bit" (Valenti 204). The key in chipping away is allowing our girls to have voices and a creativity that, as Dani Cox writes in her essay "Ms. President," allows them to "find the extra in each of our ordinary lives so that we can make a positive impact on the world we live in" (Goldwasser 230). Like the queer youth quoted throughout Driver's book, all young women "want to be heard, understood, and respected. They want their words to have broader social significance, to be part of a bigger picture in which their experiences and perspectives are taken seriously" (Driver 180). As feminists with a teensy bit more experience under our belt our number one priority needs to be nurturing these girls' voices.
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