Response to Terradoll's Article on "Girl Poison"

Terradoll, a good friend of mine, and a very talented writer, has commenced blogging on literature, music and life that you will find very interesting if you are interested in identity, feminism and riot-grrrl. I urge you to look her up! The blog is in its early days but hopefully it will gain a large following.

http://terradoll.blogspot.com/

In response to the intriguing article on Girl Poison, I thought I'd write some of my own thoughts on the matter of our young girls and how they have been, and are being, "poisoned."

Perhaps I was once poisoned myself, to a certain extent, and the remnants still remain. I've never been "into fashion," I abhor the fashion industry's confining influence and the skeletal models seen upon the catwalk, I have strong principles concerning individuality and self-expression. Yet I confess to worrying about my weight and general body-issues, undoubtedly a concern that will have trickled down from the media and the fashion industry. As a feminist-socialist-vegetarian-weirdo (!!!) I still bear the scars of our capitalist society and I completely concur with what Terradoll, and Angelspit, are saying.

I am, relatively-speaking, unpoisoned when you observe some of the young girls out and about today. I am only seventeen and yet I have seen it happen in my lifetime; when I was little, dressing up meant putting on a Laura Ashley children's dress and a sunhat, perhaps some jewellery if I could put up with its irritating feel against my skin. Now I go into my local shopping mall and see children no older than ten with handbags and wearing mini-skirts and make-up. It is popular knowledge now that more young girls aspire to be glamour models than doctors. I find this shocking and unacceptable and it needs to change.

Terradoll rightly argues that girls need to have fostered within them a sense of confidence and self-worth, and I have been reflecting upon where this should come from. Should it come from education, and stronger Personal and Social Education? Perhaps an awareness of the history of women's rights and the struggle that we have always been engaged in would help (I was most shocked the other day when a classmate of mine asked me, "What's a suffragette?"), as well as an assurance that each girl is beautiful no matter how thin, tall or blonde she is. But then arguably, this would be useless in a world where beautiful breasts are fake and girls' role models are cosmetically-enhanced pop stars and glamour models. Maybe the media and the fashion industry need to change? The problem with this is that fake breasts and fast-fashion sell, and the industry is worth mega-bucks. Maybe the government need to do something? But what could the government do, when it suits them to keep women oppressed (note the falling number of female MPs since the "Blair's Babes" boost and Cameron's selection of all-male team to fight the recession)?

Perhaps the only thing to do is Girls educating Girls, supporting each other, and trying to take little steps. I personally think things have, in many ways, got worse in the last fifteen years, and it's a shame that Terradoll's beloved riot-grrrl and Third Wave Feminism have gone so underground in recent years (I confess to being relatively new to the concept of riot-grrrl, as it is conveniently left out of many information books and magazines). I want to change the girls who ask "What's a suffragette?" and I think it's particularly worrying that in an all-girls' school there are still people who believe feminism is not an issue. I'm in favour of increasing the study of Women's Issues in Personal and Social Education lessons, even if it won't make a huge difference.

Perhaps this is worth writing to my MP over?

An interesting thought!

Sorry to ramble!!!

J
xxxx