Deconstructing how girls are presented in movies, music, and other forms of popular culture helps kids explode myths about who they are, and opens kids up to an array of personal identities and outlets for expression. According to Lyn Brown, author of Girlfighting: Betrayal and Rejection among Girls, all current PG-13 movies have a sort of preoccupation with status, popularity, and girl fighting. "If you've got two female characters in a teen movie," says Brown, "the odds are they're going to fight." She adds that reality shows are some of the worst perpetrators of girl stereotypes. "These shows are a setup; it's a doctored reality, but it still affects how girls see themselves, other girls, and how girls are seen by society at large." Teaching girls (and boys) media literacy and critical-thinking skills will help them in their ability to name and find constructive outlets, such as petitions or letter-writing protests, for their feelings of outrage or frustration. Penny Linn, Guidance Counselor at Winslow Junior High and co-facilitator of Winslow's girl coalition groups, notes that it's hard to pull kids away from a seductive, if sexist, pop culture. She maintains that, "even if they don't put this knowledge into practice now, it's in their repertoire, and hopefully down the road they will refer to it when making choices."
April 1, 2006
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Vol. 48•
No. 4