Week 13: I Am Girl...Hear Me Roar!
First off I absolutely loved the video “Ruby the 7 ½-year-old Feminist” and the whole “smart girls have more fun” production. Ruby was so full of life; I believe we are only going to see more and more young girls interested in feminism like Ruby. It is so important that we listen to young girls and mentor them from early on. Too often I believe we miss out on opportunities when we oppress the voices of young girls, they can offer insight into things we have not even imagined. I believe that if all girls were given an outlet to create their own productions we would see a generation of girls that are confident, powerful, creative, innovative, and would change the world. Allowing girls an outlet to express their thoughts, feelings and creativity would empower and encourage girls. I think we would see a support system like never before among girls that bridges the gap of race, sexuality, and class. I think we would also see a decline in destructive habits that girls get involved in due to not feeling like they fit in such as self mutilation and eating disorders. We would see a generation of girls who will use their talents and wit to influence all aspects of society from the political system, to the job market, and to social settings.
Having an outlet for girls will help ward off the negative influence of the mainstream media, instead we can use mainstream media to our advantage. Jessica Valenti outlines great ways for feminists to use the media to our advantage such as the Real Hot 100 campaign that showcases young women’s important work across the country and counters the negative image of young women in pop culture(204). Valenti also talks about the convenience and influence of blogging. She points out that blogs allow for more voices and opinions to be heard, voices that otherwise would not be heard(205). One great organization that does this as Professor Preston pointed out earlier in the semester is the Independent Girls website http://www.independentgirls.org. This is a new website that provides positive role models for girls. Real women are bloggers and share their stories of self-esteem, body image, puberty, healthy relationships, eating disorders, healthy eating, exercise, and much more. When this opportunity arose I immediately jumped on it and switch my Service Learning project to this. I see so much potential in this website that will give girls a platform to learn and to share issues they are facing. We live in a technological age, where girls are so computer savvy and spend more time on the internet than anywhere else, so I believe this is the best way to reach them and the best platform for their voices to be heard as Valenti pointed out.
We have something to learn from girls, whether we want to admit it or not and their perspective on the world is worth hearing. As I was reading I was captivated in particular by Danielle Norman’s “Repeat”. She starts off with the statement “I wonder why the human race is so stupid (Red 242).” Something we all should wonder. She goes on to point out how we refuse to learn from history and that we continue to fight over the same things, over and over again, we never learn. Danielle made many valid points that have never even occurred to me like why people wonder how someone can harm a child yet swear at their spouse in front of their children, or why do we feel sympathy for those on TV but don’t acknowledge the hurt in the ones right next to us(Red 243)?
Throughout this course my heart has been touched and my eyes have been opened through the stories of girls, many of which you would have no idea they were teenagers if there was no mention of their age. Children are no longer sheltered from what goes on in the world around them and just like us they have an opinion even at times a solution. As feminists we continually say, or at least I do, that I want to pave the path and make the world a better place for our daughters, yet we do not do a good job at listening to what they have to say. It is time that we stop speaking for girls and allow them to speak for themselves; they have a voice that needs to be heard.
Having an outlet for girls will help ward off the negative influence of the mainstream media, instead we can use mainstream media to our advantage. Jessica Valenti outlines great ways for feminists to use the media to our advantage such as the Real Hot 100 campaign that showcases young women’s important work across the country and counters the negative image of young women in pop culture(204). Valenti also talks about the convenience and influence of blogging. She points out that blogs allow for more voices and opinions to be heard, voices that otherwise would not be heard(205). One great organization that does this as Professor Preston pointed out earlier in the semester is the Independent Girls website http://www.independentgirls.org. This is a new website that provides positive role models for girls. Real women are bloggers and share their stories of self-esteem, body image, puberty, healthy relationships, eating disorders, healthy eating, exercise, and much more. When this opportunity arose I immediately jumped on it and switch my Service Learning project to this. I see so much potential in this website that will give girls a platform to learn and to share issues they are facing. We live in a technological age, where girls are so computer savvy and spend more time on the internet than anywhere else, so I believe this is the best way to reach them and the best platform for their voices to be heard as Valenti pointed out.
We have something to learn from girls, whether we want to admit it or not and their perspective on the world is worth hearing. As I was reading I was captivated in particular by Danielle Norman’s “Repeat”. She starts off with the statement “I wonder why the human race is so stupid (Red 242).” Something we all should wonder. She goes on to point out how we refuse to learn from history and that we continue to fight over the same things, over and over again, we never learn. Danielle made many valid points that have never even occurred to me like why people wonder how someone can harm a child yet swear at their spouse in front of their children, or why do we feel sympathy for those on TV but don’t acknowledge the hurt in the ones right next to us(Red 243)?
Throughout this course my heart has been touched and my eyes have been opened through the stories of girls, many of which you would have no idea they were teenagers if there was no mention of their age. Children are no longer sheltered from what goes on in the world around them and just like us they have an opinion even at times a solution. As feminists we continually say, or at least I do, that I want to pave the path and make the world a better place for our daughters, yet we do not do a good job at listening to what they have to say. It is time that we stop speaking for girls and allow them to speak for themselves; they have a voice that needs to be heard.
Comments
I could not agree with you more! How are we supposed to give girls what they are really asking for if we don't listen to what they are saying? You are right when you say that everyone wants a better world for their daughters,but they are more concerned with what they think will make it better. Why not ask our daughters?
This comment reminds me of the constant struggle within the feminist movement between the different generations or 'waves' of women. Feminists who are more experienced and may have done more legwork in the women's rights forum may feel the natural urge to discredit the less-experienced voices of younger feminists. But we have to remember that feminism means equality for all people, regardless of sex, race, sexual preference and, even, age. There are plenty of great ideas coming 'out of the mouths of babes' per say, especially in the digital age where I find even myself a little behind on all the newest blogging, Twittering, Facebooking innovations. We have to listen up to those ideas, reach out to them and connect.