(More Than) Grrrl Power! Girls Studies at UCF

    Social Media and Body Image                  It does not come as much of a surprise to us that social media can have its pros and cons when regarding women's or young girl's body image. Ever since I could remember beginning middle school, the emphasis on my body and those of the girls around me begun to shift from an innocent sense of acceptance to a critical, demeaning perspective. As we grow older and begin to be more aware of what we look like compared to what society says we have to look like, internal and external judgment is bound to ensue.                 I began having social media around the fifth grade, I was roughly ten years old with a Facebook page under my name behind my moms back. In my encounters with social media, I witnessed cyberbullying, shaming, promiscuity, etc. and it warped my perspective as to what social media really was. Even today, ...

  haejean k 11/16/2020      A powerful fight for equality that is yet to be reached. An issue that shouldn’t be needed to be fought for, but yet we have to. The fight for equal wage pay for women prospers forward. In almost all career fields, equally qualified women are compensated at a lower pay than men who have the same profession. In my blog post I will discuss various lenses of the impact of this wage gap and how it affects women from all backgrounds. Working moms, single moms, and women of all races and ages deal with the consequences of the unjust system that decides to pay women less for the same, or many times more, work they do.  An article by Alisha Gupta from the New York TImes discusses how this wage gap may be affecting women even more in the current unprecedented COVID pandemic. She points out that hundreds of thousands of women have dropped out of the workforce over the course of the pandemic. From stay at home orders and children now transitio...

  Powerful Women on Television Shows              Women on television have a long history of being chronically dependent on the existence of men to save them, ever since the beginning of any form of entertainment. In modern times, we know that a strong lead that happens to also be a woman is relatively difficult to come by. In fact, there are so many backhanded attempts at “female leads” that it has almost tarnished the characteristics of a good leading character. Luckily, I have set a simple list of women who encompass the role of a good lead and talk about the ways the male gaze might have affected that role.    Now to say that some characters are created under the male gaze does not mean that these women have to be completely void of emotions towards men, simply that their entire existence is not dependent on whether they get the guy or not. First, we have a relatively unpopular and purely chaotic character: ...

                                           This next segment of HaeJean’s blogs is regarding women in government and emphasizing the need for more women in government positions, showcasing the accomplishments of females in government, and describing a recent event where Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presented a remarkably well-spoken response to Rep. Ted Yoho’s offensive comment and non-apology. To begin, Togo’s first female prime minister was appointed and has gone to announce a new government with 30% of the 33 ministerial positions given to women. This is a record number of seats that will be held by women in Togo. This is a large step into Togo’s government and allows women to voice their opinions in government. Other countries can look at Togo as an example and follow suit.  On September 30, 2020, female lawmakers call for a larger representatio...

Yuki Nagasato, World Cup Winner from Japan, signs with men's club league Whether as coaches, athletes, or fans, women have continued to make their mark in the world of sports. While some may state that women’s sports are less popular to the highly advertised and socialized male sports, the number of fans for these athletes are strong. The achievements of these women that come from diverse backgrounds and lives are interconnected with their love of sports. The list is endless, but some well known athletes are Yuna Kim, Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, and Katie Ledecky. In an article by the Citizen Tribune, it highlights the milestone of Women’s World Cup winner Yuki Nagasato. She won the 2011 World Cup with Japan and recently signed with the Japanese men’s club soccer team Hayabusa Eleven. N agasato stated that she wants "to get the message out to the girls who are playing soccer with the boys that women can join the men’s team and challenge themselves,” empowering girls wor...

   Songs that are written or sang are primarily dominated by the culture around the artist and how they reflect on personal experiences. The domestic lifestyle was a valuable trait for women to possess in the 1950s and 1960s, therefore, most music produced by girl groups was about love or innocence. Today's culture is less prim and female singers, such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Pink and Jessie J characterize their music with sexuality, realistic emotions and a party atmosphere to relate to listeners. However, unlike the pop/hip hop music mentioned, female country singers encourage their audiences to be independent and embrace their inner thoughts instead of pleasing others. The songs and what they are about are listed below to indicate how gender roles in music have changed over the decades.  The McGuire Sisters - "Ev'ry Day of My Life" (1956)      The three sisters croon about being dutiful and loving to their admirer each day, "trying to do wha...

National Geographic    Meet the Hailstone family of Noorvik, Alaska and the National Geographic television show, "Life Below Zero." Each day, Chip, Agnes and their seven children live off the land around them and craft the remains of animals for trade, which supports the lifestyle of Inupiaq Eskimos (Agnes' heritage). From a young age, the Hailstone daughters were taught how to safely and efficiently operate hunting rifles, spot which caribou are pregnant to leave alive for the next season, and successfully skin each animal they kill. As an Alaskan, utilizing the entire prey is vital for survival and the family's business, such as when the oils of an animal's brain are used to clean knives and shine boots.          In the video above, the Hailstones hunt a gray wolf, which is one of the most valuable pelts that can be sold on the fur trade. Agnes discusses the importance of "freeing the soul" of the animal, paying homage to both ...

by Taylor Pittman, Voices Staff Writer, The Huffington Post “My goal is to show girls that I‘m fighting so they don’t have to.” Why Soccer Star Alex Morgan is Proud to Play #LikeaGirl