This is what I found today in Tumbrl (Hear Me Roar blog) and, as it is written spontaneously by a fifteen years old American girl, we can only hope this statement may resonate with many more teenagers around the world.
Isn’t marvellous to read such a powerfully clear realisation from a 15-years old?
What was extraordinary is becoming ordinary: this is a brilliant example of how the internet has become a site of sharing and empowerment, where the awakening consciousness of so many young girls can reach out to others… gaining recognition, synergies and power as the words spread around a myriad of blogs and sites: these are the wonders of social media which I applaud and rely on 😉
I have such mixed emotions in reading this statement. I feel sad that girls today are STILL having to experience the difficulties I once faced 50 years ago. Yet I am grateful that NOW they are aware of what is happening and are able to name it openly to get support. Thank you for your constant efforts in this important work, Francesca.
Hi Anna Lin, I like to think that we have come a long way from 50 years ago as far as social norms, gender equality and sexism. Yes, it is encouraging that now girls and young women can discuss their issues with much more openess as many taboos and false myths around sexuality have now disappeared. Children today are so much more aware than before, as the internet/digital revolution have allowed them to access the adult world in ways which would have been unconceivable a few years ago. But without relevant media literacy skills, the content they access can be easily misunderstood, actually leading them to holding many false believes regarding gender norms, their identity and their place in the world. Children do have a tendency to believe everything they see, taking media messages at face value + there are other factors at play such parents’increasingly busy life (= less interaction and intermediation in the consumption of media) and the permeating celebrities culture which aggreviate the problem. On a positive note, I agree with you that now awareness of these issues is building up quite quickly: new exciting initiatives and projects are developing and hopefully we’ll be able to reach more and more girls. I am sure we’re heading in the right direction! Thank you so much for your continued support 😉
It’s all very encouraging, but we can’t sit back and say “I hope my daughter is like this”. Sure we can hope it, but what we really need to do is make sure it happens. Give them all the tools and chances necessary to come to these same conclusions themselves. And then let the guys know how these girls are feeling and make them realise what they are doing. Things they took for granted will disgust them as it dawns on them how they were really acting. If not, then hopefully the girls they meet will be strong enough to call them out on it and give them a second chance to realise what is so wrong.
Totally agree Kinnie, I read this and think of my own daughter and reflect on how I raised her into a strong woman. I did a damn good job BY MYSELF and I will tell anybody that ask me. Heck, she will tell you the same thing.
My daughter is the one that represents that quote “I want every little girl who’s told she’s bossy, to be told instead she has leadership skills.” ~Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO. This is exactly what I used to tell Megan when she was growing up and she would get a little too sassy. I would tell her “You know what Meggie Sue, you are going to make a good CEO one day, because you have some wonderful management skills” LOL.
Every woman will go through this at some time in their life, just seeing it at 15 years old can be a bit soon but with today’s world I am not surprised.
Well, it is great that women got together years ago so that there could be less gender discrimination. Most girls tody take things for granted and don’t realised how much progress has been made. I agree though that feminism as a word has received a fair amount of bad publicity and so many people associate it with hard core radical movement when it’s mostly not the case. I mean there are many branches of feminism -like in every movement you have the extremist/radical side, but I believe most feminists are just for gender euality and not for women supremacy!
It is good that she came to this realisation – although it is of course terrible that she had to go through any of this in what is supposed to be a civilised society. My main question though is what on earth were her parents doing? Why did they not prepare her for the world or teach her about those less fortunate than herself???
I would like to point out that she says she realised all that when she was 15. Doesn’t say that the is 15 now.. So maybe a few years have passed since then, but of course, the important thing remains the fact that she did realise some very essential facts, which would surely help her throughout her life as an adult and, possibly, as a parent later!
And yes, it’s so good to see the positive, truly useful and meaningful face of social media!!