Reaction to “A Girl Like Me"

After viewing “A Girl Like Me" I was quite surprised that the appearance of something as harmless as hair was such a big deal in the piece. It clearly carried more weight for these girls and the people around them in their lives than I would have thought possible. A male friend remarked to me the other day that he could never go out with anyone with a weave. He put it thusly. “I can't stand weave. If a girl has to have 5 feet of extra hair so that she can feel good about herself what does that say about her? It says she cannot accept herself for who she truly is. It also means she's not the girl for me." I would say that this video is a good example of a girl produced artifact because as viewers we can see those interviewed understand certain views of female identity have been consumed around them and they feel pressured by these views and frustrated because they understand the female identity being presented to them is not the only option for them. In fact you can argue the identity being portrayed is inauthentic. As we have read about in Jamming Girl Culture, it is extremely beneficial for girls to produce rather than consume their own ideas and notions about girlhood. Essentially we are talking about the opposite of the pink think movement. By realizing there is a problem and attempting to suss out the roots and reasons for these certain constructions taking place – by partaking in this specific dialogue these girls are attempting to jam the girlhood culture messages they are receiving. One girl in the piece said about her ancestors, "They couldn't be themselves. They had to be what everyone else told them to be. " Well, in this film these girls are pushing back against what “everyone else”is telling them to be.