tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733625315234790133.post870869672160921069..comments2023-09-04T10:43:04.915-04:00Comments on Women's Collaborative Circle: Sincerely, Unconvinced Spice Girl FanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733625315234790133.post-29403907800067985212011-07-30T05:57:03.437-04:002011-07-30T05:57:03.437-04:00I think that "girl power" is a double ed...I think that "girl power" is a double edge sword. For the most part, I think that the girl power movement starting in the 1990's and now a popular used cultural term, suggests that girls have innate worth. That is to say that girls, who then grow up to be women, have many things inherently great to contribute to our society and should not be made to feel anything less than just because they are girls. This was a movement of empowerment, to have girls find their own voice and honor their own development before they become women. Girl power, in its most grassroots form, gives girls opportunities to recognize their own agency, identity, and voice earlier than previous generations - it is was previous generations who fought for and are passing down this knowledge and action to younger girls.<br /><br />However, this notion of girl power in its most fundamental form became (like most everything else) co-opted by popular culture and media. As such, it has become a watered-down notion of empowerment, often stripped from its original cultural and grassroots context and even more problematic used to further objectify, sexualize and therefore disempower girls. With that said, I think that Beyonce's song and message of "who runs the world, girls" could be case in point.<br /><br />When I first heard the song and moved beyond its catchy beat, I was horrified. Girls certainly do not run the world and to think that they do is giving girls a sense of false empowerment and like Julia said, perhaps a sense of complacency. On closer listen,I started to wonder if this was some form of a prophetic foreshadowing or rather an apocalyptic vision of the future... girls will run the world "in the end" and then it will be destroyed. In either case, it is not pretty. While I enjoy Beyonce as an artist, I am also concerned about her over-sexualization in the video while she sings about "who runs the world." Can girls only run the world in in scantily clad outfits, while dancing behind men in their bras and panties? Again, I have nothing against Beyonce, but I think a message of girl power needs to be embedded within a context of positive action. Girls need to be educated about their inherent self-worth, abilities and power and then followed up with action. Organizations such as Girls, Inc. and Do Something.org support this mission.<br /><br />In the end, I believe that girls who are severely undervalued globally to the point of attempted extinction (I am referring here to femicide and/or gendercide), need our continued support, education and advocacy. They needs us, the women who stand before them with our own knowledge of the difficulties and stuggles of being a woman in our world. Let's help our girls grow to be their best!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07705000711761530416noreply@blogger.com