Based on these readings, how do you
define girlhood? And why should the academy care about this as a
field (if we should)?
After doing the readings I would say
the definition of girlhood has a lot to do with the surroundings a
girl grows up in. Society dictates your girlhood. The Academy should
care about this as a field because part of the Academy's job is to
search for truth and share and spread knowledge. If these articles
show us anything it is that social constructions will gladly be
perpetuated by advertisers looking to make a buck or media outlets
looking for a sensational story. In the pink think introduction we
realized the color pink has been commercialized to make a buck and in
this process has become an overexposed meme people take as truth.
Notable also was the fact that advertisers went so far as to tell
preteen girls how to feel. “Feel feminine and dainty – just the
way a young lady wants to feel." In this way it appears
advertisers are preying on young girls during one of the most
vulnerable and confusing periods of their lives. Just how does one
know when they are feeling feminine and dainty? Can anyone explain
what that feels like to me?
The Academy should care about this
subject matter to help guard against the creation and proliferation
of empty headed girls who need assistance, written directions, on how
to properly put on a bathing suit. This acting ladylike is built on a
false premise. Life is not as cookie-cutter as “one size fits all."
What about the woman who has had a mastectomy? Or the woman with a
rigid body from arthritis? The general think pink attitude
marginalizes these women. In short the Academy should care about this
field in an effort to fight against pink think. Because pink think is
a social construction. No one can pin down what constitutes
femininity. Girls received conflicting advice about it because we
have no concrete term to define what is. Endeavoring to grasp what it
may be seems a worthy academic pursuit.
Studying this field is important
because these studies are not out to make a buck. These studies are
aiming at finding the truth. Plus, knowledge is power. The media is
often wrong in its portrayal of women. Studying this field allows us
to get at what is really going on in society when it comes to
girlhood. In this way the field grows and shifts and these changes
must be recorded. It is important to realize that for example poor
women of color where disproportionately singled out in the US
criminal justice system because the public mistakenly felt they were
“superpredators.”
Thomas
Along the lines of feeling feminine and dainty, I can't imagine what it would be like to be growing up with such advertisements directed toward me, especially during such a confusing time in a girl's life. By saying 'feel feminine and dainty' it's as if to tell girls it's not alright to be in pain (another point the article brought up was when menstruating, make sure to dress even prettier, and smile more) and that girls aren't allowed to express discomfort, ever. I wonder, due to these advertisements, how many girls suppressed questions about biological functions (cramps, back pain, etc.) because they were encouraged to grin and bear it?
ReplyDeleteYou both make a good point about vulnerability and girls. Not only are folks this age busy building an identity, they also often lack the skills and vocabulary to question the "rules" being given to them.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing that strikes me is the word "feminine" itself. How do you guys read it - good, bad, neutral? I fight often with my friends about whether or not it is always a term loaded with negative connotations. My instinct - probably as a third-wave/post-feminism feminist - is that there are lots of ways to be feminine and some are good and some aren't, but it is a loaded term. Just wondering what you folks think.
The word “feminine” does seem like a loaded term. But, it's all in how you use it. I can see how it may offend some people to hear it. But me personally, for whatever reason, when I think of that word I think of female beauty. So for me, it's hard to take it as a negative. I have never used it as a pejorative term as in, "Stop being so feminine." I have never intentionally used the word as a weapon. But then most of the women in my life are tough, aggressive, go-getters. So, I have never associated the word feminine with being weak which is I think where it then becomes a dangerous term.
ReplyDeleteI agree, being feminine comes with many different connotations and one definition will discriminate one group or another. It does sound funny to even think of a book for young ladies that will give them instructions on how to properly put on a bathing suit. Times have changed, but not enough. We can still see some of those dainty pink books at the bookstore.
ReplyDeleteNora
I like this discussion. It raises important points about how “femininity” plays a part in identity construction. The term in itself is not good, bad, or neutral. It is a constructed “common sense”, perhaps comparable to the common sense of capitalism and money in American culture. It may be used to help people, hurt people, or do neither just as money is. Its contextual use determines its relative value as damaging, or helping, or doing neither. In seems that in our study we become attuned more so to its damaging effects or its ability to rank and exclude individuals and groups. However, there are also many contexts in which “feminine” cultural forms and artifacts work beneficently. Traditional “feminine” activities such as knitting circles, baking, etcetera—hold a great power to bring people together (i.e. not just women and girls) and boost self-esteem in sharing a mutual interest or the love of something labeled “feminine.” The damage is sparked not from the “feminine” itself but from the “game of exclusion” (A Foucauldian phrase that addresses both ontology and social construction, especially in the idea of “madness”) that the label or classification imposes. Thus, by the power of exclusion we create damage and hierarchical ranking that often results from constructions of identity like “madness” and “femininity”. This was a tough one--I hope I was able to break it down in a way that makes some sense.
ReplyDelete