(More Than) Grrrl Power! Girls Studies at UCF

Bullied Michigan Teen

I heard this on the radio yesterday so I looked it up this morning.  A Norwegian study found that there is a higher divorce rate for husbands and wives sharing housework.  The article does continue to elaborate that it is more likely that the higher rate is because of a change in values; sharing housework is one of those value changes.  I thought it was interesting.  At the end of this article, there is a slideshow that has some interesting divorce findings to read.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/28/divorce-rates-couples-who_n_1923623.html

People all over the world submitted videos asking the media to better represent women, girls and the true diversity of humanity. Add your voice: http://represent-us.org

http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/booster.php I felt this was appropriate because many pre-teen and adolescent lack self esteem.  If we can all learn to work on building self esteem then maybe we can pass it on.  I hope this site will raise estemm awareness.

Balpreet Kaur is a female student at Ohio State University and she is the president of the university's Sikh Student Association.  Due to hormone levels during her teenage years she has facial hair and is often rediculed and questioned of her sex. She recently had a picture taken without her knowledge which was posted online and cyber bullying surrounded this image.  Instead of taking offense to remarks she explains that her body, just the way it is, is a perfect gift and her religion does not allow for anything to be altered or for her hair to be cut.  She explains that her attitude and her actions have more value than her appearance.  Her role is to serve and that is possible in any physical form.  She is a role model for girls and women.  We ARE perfect just the way we are and Balpreet is a reminder of this.  http://shine.yahoo.com/women-who-shine/sikh-woman-balpreet-kaur-turns-cyber-bullying-incident-203500244.html ...

This is SO GOOD. Can you believe she is 15? So articulate! Tavi Gevinson--Fashion Blogger and Feminist "Teenage girls can build positive self-image through creating their own media. Fifteen-year-old Editor-in-Chief, Tavi Gevinson, explains how her site Rookiemag.com  helps young girls find role models in their peers.  At age 11, Tavi Gevinson shocked the fashion world when her blog,  Style Rookie , became one of the most popular online style guides. A mere four years later, she is a notable and strong voice in the fashion industry. Tavi is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of  Rookiemag.com , an online publication aimed at teenagers tackling the political and cultural issues of the day." [ description from the website]

Okay so we all know about the insecurities that young girls and women have today. "I'm so fat", "My nose is to big, or small", "I need a bigger or smaller a**," and this list goes on. Personally I believe that the media has A LOT to do with the objectification of the female body and the insecurity that we have as women. Check this link out and tell me what you think!!! http://youtu.be/DvdSBXgB9B0

ABC news posted a news article about a paddling incident in Fort Worth, Texas.  First, I thought paddling was a thing of the past.  The main issue of this story is that a male vice principal, with the observation of a male police officer, paddled a female high school student.  The school policy dictates that the paddling be done by the same sex.  Not to sound sexist but males are traditionally harder hitters than females and females will usually hurt more from this type of strike.  Also, how did this girl feel having to do this while having two male authority figures there for intimidation.  As a parent, I would probably attempt to pursue legal action for sexual harassment or even sexual assault.  Any opinions? http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/texas-school-wants-easier-spank-140324070--abc-news-topstories.html

A few weeks ago I was watching the news and heard that Honey Boo Boo Child beat the first night of Republican National Convention.  My first thought was “what in the  *!#@  is a Honey Boo Boo Child?”  I decide to look it up on the internet.  The first thing I found was from the Dr. Drew website and I found a lot more on YouTube.  Well, it does appear that this is a case of gender stereotyping gone nuclear.  In addition to the gender stereotyping, this was some of the most horrible things I have seen raising a child.  One example is the mother mixing what appears to be an endless quantity of Mountain Dew and Red Bull for this child to consume.  There are so many more examples I can give about what I observed.  In my opinion, what started out as a gender stereotyping activity as evolved in just plain abuse and even child endangerment.  Any thoughts?  Article from CNN: http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/ho...

Recently in the news, The ACLU has complaints about father-daughter dances and mother-daughter ballgames.  They claim this is gender stereotyping.  The ACLU states, “Public schools have no business fostering the notion that girls prefer to go to formal dances while boys prefer baseball games. This type of gender stereotyping only perpetuates outdated notions of 'girl' and 'boy' activities and is contrary to federal law.”  When I was younger, I remember father-daughter dances and there were also mother-son dances.  I do not remember there being anything like a mother-son ballgame.  Maybe that was because traditionally the mothers were the ones that were bringing the sons to the ballgames.  They could change they dance to a parent-student dance.  Second thought, there might be complaints about that too.  How about legal guardian – student dance?  I do agree that if it is just father-daughter dances and mother-daughter ballgames, it is g...

So we were sitting down to dinner and I'm sharing our readings from this week and that prompted a conversation with my 15 year old directed to Midge, the Happy Family doll that had at one time been  recalled.   Apparently, she had no wedding ring on her finger and the packaging did not include her “husband.”   Of course, I had to look this up, and boy was I shocked at what I learned.  It went way beyond the no-ring issue...read on.  Yes, she was recalled (only at Wal-Mart across the country) based on the fact that she glorified teen pregnancy.   It seems when she was released she was only 17, and she was released with a 3 year old and a husband, but they were not sold together.   Now she was pregnant again, she at first was released without a ring.   That was fixed, as my daughter said, and they began making her with the ring.   While searching for this, I found…I am not even sure where to begin… a breastfeeding doll (...

http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/g/eggn4syxvzswngsw.jpg This is the message we see at stores to direct to what women want to know. on the cover of a simple magazine can say a lot. is this what we really want to know or does the media confuse us of thinking this is what we want to know? Magazines can do a lot of damage to a girl. I can remember as a girl not getting a whole lot of magazines, now I am glad I did not because, now I know why girls are so negative about their self image.

Okay I'm sure some of you know who Pussy Riot is. For those of you that do not, they are a kick *** punk rock all girl band. They are on trial for having a voice, they are all looking a prison time (3yrs min) FOR SPEAKING THEIR MINDS AND GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN!! I feel that all people women and men should be able to stand up for their beliefs. Please follow this link and read their story, all comments are welcomed.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184939/Pussy-Riot-trial-Russias-girl-punk-band-faces-jail-Putin-protest-insults-Russian-Orthodox-Church.html

My kid checking out an awesome dinosaur at Harrod's See the link below for glossy pro photos of Toy Kingdom Gender neutral toy stores have gotten serious attention in the news in the past year. Hamley's toy store in the UK were the first large store to approach to the idea. Over the summer, Harrod's London opened their gender neutral “toy kingdom” where toys are separated by play concept. I recently was able to visit the store and found that Harrod's has made a lovely space to shop for toys, but does not do much to shed years of gendered marketing practices. A few items were noteworthy. First, the employees of Harrod's wear either a pink or blue shirt depending on the employee's assigned sex. Second, Harrod's can arrange displays however they wish but until the packaging on 80% of the toys are changed, the manufacturers blatantly delineate their toys by gender. Last, Harrod's online shop still sorts by "boy" or "girl" toys, cli...

I am a frequent patron at the Enzian Theater and saw an upcoming Speical Event called the LUNAFEST Film Festival which is scheduled for Saturday October 6th.  LUNAFEST is a fundraising event which proceeds benefit WIFT-FL and the Breast Cancer Fund.  The festival runs 90 minutes and consists of short films which focus on womens issues and the stories of women.  I am pretty sure I will be attending this event.  To view the event information at the Enzian Theater view this link: http://enzian.org/food/upcoming_events/lunafest-film-festival To learn more about LUNAFEST and the short films included in the event view this link: http://www.lunafest.org/the-films -Mary

I came across the photographer Rania Matar today and her current series, released in May 2012, called A Girl and Her Room.  Rania photographed girls in thier most private of places, thier rooms, during the most impressionable years of life.  Through these pictures we see girls in transition from girls to women and a preoccupation with beauty, insecurity, and self identity.    http://girlroom.raniamatar.com/reviews.php

Friday Night: The 80 band members of the high school marching band are fed dinner by the booster club and bused to the football field: $0 spent by participants The varsity football team is fed a three course dinner and are bused to the football field, all paid for by the athletic department: $0 spent by participants Meanwhile, twenty cheerleaders are driving to the field in their own cars, or are being dropped off by parents. Unlike the band and the football team, the cheerleaders have not been fed a free dinner and were not bused from the school. In fact the girls were charged $5 a vehicle to park a block away from the stadium: $100 spent by participants I grew annoyed hearing that the cheerleading squad, a school based organization that mandated for the squad to be present at all field games, were being charged to park.  Not only were the girls forced to pay-to-park but they were also responsible for supplying the football players with a “goody-bag” after every...

I thought that the last line of the article was inspiring: "Models shouldn’t be modeling perfection because there is no such thing,” she said. “We should be modeling our imperfections." http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/09/acne-plagued-teen-lands-spot-on-fashion-week-runway/

I saw this ad in a Family Fun magazine and loved it. Thought I would share it here.

Click Here to Watch Full Video This Duke student emailed a few of her girlfriends a PowerPoint that she created to describe her sexual encounters in a scientific manner; the document was leaked and gained national publicity. This PowerPoint was created like a thesis (rumored to be exactly that) complete with graphs, pictures and detailed descriptions of all the men she had sexual relations with. What I was interested to find out is why so much hype? Is it because it is something so risqué and personal that went viral or something else? I am forced to wonder, would the reactions be different if she were a male? Is this gesture empowering her or just tarnishing her name? I personally believe the reason this gained so much national attention, aside from being so personal and intrusive, is because it is a woman speaking up about her sex life. We all know many men may do it, but women are thought of being more private. Is she braking the rules or just ruining her reputation? Thoughts...

 Read about a story that inspires me. Stilettos for a Cause Pam Rosenkrans runs In Her Shoes, a California-based boutique shop that donates 100 percent of its profits to international women’s rights. Rosekrans opened the boutique in 2008 expressly to support the Global Fund for Women. She does not have to work but chooses to run the boutique to help support women's causes.

Found this t-shirt on CafePress.com. They have many different t-shirts that say things to support women. Kinda cute.

Girl Power I found this website for tween girls with goals to inspire them to be feel empowered, develop a strong sense of self and to love themselves. It helps foster friendships where girls can explore "girl issues." Exploring the sites for girls on the internet I was discouraged to see that many sites are actually sponsored by advertisers or retailers with the motive to sell to the girls via ads and pop-ups.  This site is genuine. http://www.urstrong.com/about.asp

Everytime I watch this video, I can never believe that is what all the magazines and billboards do these days. They take an origical image and make it beyond perfect. Young girls see these photos when they flip through magazines and think this is what they have to look like. They compare themselves to these images. No wonder we live in a world where beauty is the number one priority. I support dove because they show you that someone can look normal and still be beautiful.

Is it still true that what's behind the pink and blue really makes a difference?  Once upon a time, that was so true, but what about today?  Are we getting the same education, jobs opportunities, and pay?