When I think of how Girls' Web Sites: A Virtual
"Room of One's Own" talks about how in these days, girls are forced
to grow up with less room to express themselves. This is pertaining to the inability to let
girls go play outside due to the dangers of the outside world. This means that girls must find other places
for them to express themselves. These
web sites seem to come out as one of the newest growing trends for that. To be
honest, this was the first time that I have heard about these kinds of web
sites. I came from the gamer side of the
computer world. This new “virtual
collection” seems to be a viral strand of the more traditional consumption/
production for girls. They could use
these virtual rooms and Pinterest as places to see what they want then later go
out and get it. They do not necessarily offer
new opportunities for girls. To me, it
seems like the virtual collection has just given them a place to store their
ideas. It gives them a place where they
can show others what they like and what they might want to get later in
life. The web lets them express to more
people now than ever before. Girls are
able to share their wants with thousands and most of them seem content with the
norm. If all these sites have to offer
are a base set of options that the girls can pick from, then in reality it’s
the sites that are controlling what the girls put up. They aren’t really allowed to express
themselves in the own way, just a preconceived way that the website owner
picked for them. The web is the newest
things for girls to express themselves but not as openly as they should be able
to.
Daniel,
ReplyDeleteIt got my attention that you mention in your post that you come from the "gamer side of the computer world" because that is exactly what Walsh and Mitchell have found in their research. They argue that males use virtual spaces to play games while females use them to socialize. It appears that you prove their case.
You also mention the fact that the norm for girls is to play inside their homes due to the dangers of the outside world. This is true, unfortunately. I love the outdoors, but always worry that something might happen to me because I am a female, and now I worry about my own daughter when she plays outside. My fears, I'm sure, have something to do with the fact that I was born and raised in Juarez, a city well known for female homicides (femicides).
Nora
"They aren’t really allowed to express themselves in the own way, just a preconceived way that the website owner picked for them."
ReplyDeleteI guess no website experience is going to be the perfect website experience for anyone. But what I would say in response to this sentence is that if girls have websites they like a lot but there are things on the site that they do not like as well, they could always start their own website. I know statistics say that this does not happen much. But it is an option for independent free thinkers. Maybe I am partaking in wishful thinking but I have a do-it-yourself attitude about this. If you don't like something and want more choice, then change what you can.
I agree that due to danger that exsists outside the home, depending on where they live, an online community can offer a view into other communities and the experiences of other young girls. I wrote about the differences in the websites when you google girls stuff and boys stuff.I think that the options are limited for girls and it can be called questionable practices if a website encourages girls to step out of the box in terms of thinking and behaving.
ReplyDeleteI think you can add ideas of power to the good points you make about danger. Yes, sometimes people feel safer in online spaces, but I think often women and girls are drawn to such spaces because it offers them a voice and agency. That may not always be available to them in the offline world.
ReplyDeleteI like what you say about pinterest as a space to collect. I wonder too if it is also a practice. Is it more important what you pin or that you pin?