(More Than) Grrrl Power! Girls Studies at UCF

Menstrual Man Makes Waves in India Menstruation is something that unites as much as half of the human population, and yet the menstrual experience can be radically different for different people depending on where they live.  Girls growing up in the US are socialized to view menstruation as a nuisance that must be endured with as much discretion as possible, and thanks to the accessibility of disposable, easily-concealed products, this is fairly easy to do.  Since pads and tampons became readily available in the 1920’s and 30’s, it’s been possible for girls and women to remain active in sports, school and the work force without anyone ever knowing that they are menstruating  (Scharpf & Kauder Nalebuff, 2011) .  For women in other regions, however, the experience of menstruation is much different.  In areas in Africa, as many as half of all school-aged girls are unable to attend multiple days of school each month while they bleed because of insu...

Studies Show Environmental Factors Causing Early Puberty in Girls  Last year, Terry Gross of NPR’s Fresh Air released a segment on the age of puberty occurring in girls.  Gross interviewed the authors of The New Puberty , Dr. Julianna Deardorff and Dr. Louise Greenspan, who conducted a long-term study on puberty, following 444 girls aged six to eight years old from the San Francisco Bay area.  Their study found that, while it was once accepted that age eight was the earliest a girl would begin experiencing puberty, the age for puberty is now decreasing, dipping more and more frequently into the six and seven years-old range.  However, just because girls are approaching this turbulent time earlier in life does not mean that they are ready for it emotionally.  “It has been established that girls are more likely to have symptoms of anxiety, higher levels of depression, initiate sex and sexual behaviors earlier,” Dr. Deardorff told Fresh Air .  Matu...

"The exchange program aims to empower teen girls to break down cultural barriers and study subjects they love."                                                                                                            by David McNair via  Takepart "Hosted by the U.S. State Department and  Legacy International , the young girls—who range between 15 to 17 years of age and hail from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Yemen, and Tunisia—are currently working side by side with American teens and leaders in the tech industry at the fourth annual  TechGirls exchange program  in Washington, D.C., and at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia."

"Former US President Jimmy Carter should be enjoying retirement right about now. But instead, the 90 year old (yep, NINETY!!) has decided is not done in leadership just yet. In an  interview with CNN , he revealed that for the rest of his life, he is making it his mission to fight against the injustices toward women and girls worldwide." “He’s doing it for the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, for those who have become ISIS militants’ sex slaves and for girls everywhere who can’t go to school. He’s doing it for the  estimated 160 million babies aborted or killed at birth in Asia in recent decades  because they were not boys. He’s doing it for American college co-eds and women in the military who suffer rape and see the men responsible walk free,” writes Greg Botelho at CNN. Read full article HERE .

Now this is an intriguing concept. As technology continues to develop, so do the products that serve our most basic needs (deodorant, birth control, feminine hygiene). I was initially posting this to share the actual product as technology and hoping it wasn't too expensive to try...just to see if it actually works and could be the simpler version of cloth diapering. But I see that this product is associated with an initiative to provide assistance (financial, training, products) to Ugandan women. Ideally, this makes the product even better. Unfortunately (or not), I'm always suspicious when I see products that seem to potentially capitalize on ________ (fill in the blank with a social justice issue). However, I haven't given them a fair shake yet so will follow up with more research and/or encourage reviews of their products! They also serve as an example of the possibilities for women-run industries, ethical and mutually beneficial cross-global collaborations, and practic...

Throughout this six-week Summer 2015 semester, I was extraordinarily impressed by the engagement and classroom community we created in such a short time. The commitment of the students was evident from the first week through the final assignment. I intentionally left the final project somewhat open-ended in terms of approach to allow for creativity, particularly because we read about the variety of approaches of girls' activism and cover such a broad range of issues in the course. Certain topics resonate with students differently so I permit the opportunity to tap into those interests and moments while still requiring that they effectively demonstrate an understanding of the course texts and nuances of each issue from context to context, especially where location, identity, and intersectionality are concerned. As a celebration of our semester, I am sharing one example (for now) of an outcome from the final project assignment. Elizabeth chose to create a zine for girls dealing w...

It astonished me that in 2015 a youth basketball team can be disqualified because they have a female player yet this is the case for the Virginia team,the Charlottesville Cavaliers. Ten year-old Kymora is the point guard for the Cavs and loves basketball and her team. Her mother had no idea she would not be allowed to play, seeing as she had already been in "hundreds of tournaments for the Cavaliers, including two National Travel Basketball Association (NTBA) tournaments". Kymora's head coach played her during the tournament, despite the rules specifiically banning her, and the team was subsequently disqualified. The team has stood by Kymora, supporting her by wearing uniforms.  Read the full story  here .

Warning: This is an intense video involving painful and traumatic issues. Imagine being burned with acid, beaten, and murdered due to honor. I couldn’t wrap my head around this idea of death due to honor till I saw the movie Honor Diaries. It introduces us to nine activists fighting for the equality for women in the Middle East. One of my favorite activists from the movie Jasvinder Sanghera is on a new mission to bring awareness of honor killings in America. She needs everyone to sign the Petition to make  July 14 th  a National Day of Memory for Women and Girls Killed in the Name of Honor. Here are some of the facts from Honor Diaries website; Contrary to popular belief, honor violence does not just happen overseas. In the last several years alone we have seen honor killings in the United States make the news and shock the nation. According to a report by Phyllis Chesler, there are 33 known victims that have been murdered for honor in North America, including: ...

The new Marielle Heller directed film, "Diary of a Teenage Girl," is an intriguing representation of one young woman's experience as she explores her sexuality and doesn't sugar-coat the process like many Hollywood movies do. In an interview featured in The Guardian, Heller says "We need to see women’s stories reflected in ways that feel genuine and honest,” she says. “I think [mainstream cinema] does such a disservice to women by trivializing them and their emotions.”  I look forward to the film (starring Bel Powley, Kristen Wiig, and Alexander Skarsgård) and hope to see a "real," or least semi-authentic portrayal of what it's like to be a teenage girl going through the confusing, exciting, and scary time that is puberty and discovery.  Click  here  for The Guardian interview. 

Just last week as I was outside of my friend’s apartment to pick him up; I watched as he looked around for my vehicle. I had text him that I was outside and he quickly responded. “Where”? I was the only vehicle parked in front of his apartment building so was very confused by his own confusing. I replied “The white SUV with black tints”. As he entered the vehicle he quickly said; “Well this isn’t your average chick car”. I was appalled by his statement. Taken back as I had never associated any vehicle with gender and didn’t understand what the big commotion was about. Yes I drive an eight passenger Dodge SUV. What is the big deal? The comments continued as my driving was also analyzed. “Wow Jazz you don’t drive like a girl”. “You can actually park this thing”? “You don’t have both hands on the wheel? That’s a first.”

Girls Who Code   is an amazing program created for girls to be able to immerse themselves in the male-dominated field of computer science. According to the website, 90% of girls who attended the program went on to major or minor in Computer Science or related field, 77% of girls changed their path because of Girls Who Code, and 92% of participants taught someone else to code. At and age where girls are afraid to enter a field they have not previously been encouraged to participate in, this program helps them to gain confidence by teaching them that they can  enter the field and succeed. Here's a wonderful video showcasing the difference this program made in the lives of its participants:

The newest Always #likeagirl video, "Unstoppable", was released earlier this month. It features young girls similar to those in the "Like a Girl" video that made headlines after airing during the Superbowl. In the video, director Lauren Greenfield (of Queen of Versailles fame) asks the girls "Have you ever been told, 'because you're a girl', that you should not do something?" The girls give various answers, and are then told to write those things on a box and destroy it. Though some may argue that this campaign is purely for making headlines, and that Procter and Gamble are simply profiting off of pulling on people's heartstrings, it is, nonetheless, an emotional video.  Watch the video and leave your thoughts in the comments! 

According to the World Health Organization, " The proportion of births that take place during adolescence is about 2% in China, 18% in Latin America and the Caribbean and more than 50% in sub-Saharan Africa". Such was the case with an eleven year old Paraguayan girl who was raped, and subsequently impregnated by her abusive stepfather. The young girl's mother began reporting the sexual abuse in 2013, but the case was not looked into by authorities until April 2015, when the girl was already pregnant. Because of Paraguay's strict abortion laws, the eleven year old must go through with the pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancies "account for  23% of the overall burden of disease due to pregnancy and childbirth" and " In Latin America, the risk of maternal death is four times higher among adolescents younger than 16 years than among women in their twenties". Not only do these pregnancies affect the young girls, but their communities as a whole, becau...