Go Dominique and the Girl Scouts of America!

The advent of new media in recent years has been both a blessing and a curse to the youth of the world. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, we can hop on the computer and have a conversation with somebody half way around the world in thirty seconds or less - or more commonly, we can learn that the girl that sits behind us in History who always wears black and scowls actually has an intense love for narwhals and unicrons, by clicking on her photo album “I Love Narwhals and Unicorns.” We’re able to  instantly connect to others in a way no other generation has previously experienced, but we’re also exposed to the darker side of rapid, often anonymous, communication. Cyberbullying, defined as when someone is “tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another…using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones” is becoming a serious problem for teen internet users.

In recognition of this crisis, the Girl Scouts of America are taking action. Girl Scout Dominique Napolitano of West Islip, New York, along with talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw, will testify before Congress about cyberbullying today (Thursday, June 24th). Dominique will focus on the challenges she and her peers face online and the crippling effects of electronic bullying.

“It is very important for teens to promote online safety, because many teenagers fall victim to cyberbullying,” Dominique stated. “Hearing online safety tips from adults can be boring. Teens may feel like adults don’t understand and aren’t on the same level as them. But when the advice comes from another teen they might feel like the other person knows what they are going through. I am inspired to advocate for teen safety because I want to help save teens from feeling hurt or guilty.”

Dr. Phil - an apparent cyberbullying activist (?)

Dominique is not the only Girl Scout devoted to spreading awareness. She was one of a group of Girl Scouts who worked to create an online safety website – LMK designed to inform teens about cyberbullying, online sexual predators, cybersecurity and other internet related problems. A unique aspect of this online guide is that teens themselves largely contribute the information outlined on the site, and aim to raise awareness among their peers.

And, honestly, teens need to hear this information. Our parents were so worried about violent video games desenitizing us to violence, but in reality the sheer anonymity the internet allows us is having the same effect. Sure, shooting people for hours on end (even if it is virtual) is probably not doing great things for us, but at the same time, weilding the power to say whatever you want to whoever you want without ever having to look them in the face is its own issue. Staring at a screen and merely typing words just doesn’t force us to face the consequences of our words the same way the real world does. I learned that lesson – to a much lesser degree – on this blog. Typing your thoughts into a wordpress box seems like a private experience…until you realize thousands of people are reading what your saying and they all have their own lives and perspectives as well. I’m sure typing hateful comments into an IM screen is similar; it just doesn’t seem as real when you can torment someone then log off and go downstairs to eat dinner with your family.  

Not that that is any kind of excuse. In the face of recent cyberbullying tragedies – such as the suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince from Massachusetts, who killed herself last January after being relentlessly harassed in school and through text and Facebook messages – it’s good to hear that other teens and the government are finally beginning not only to take this tragic phenomenon seriously, but are taking action.

*also (partially) posted at the NCRW’s REAL Deal Blog where I will be guest blogging this summer!

Girl Guides

While researching for an essay on feminism among young people a while back I came across an article by Kira Cochrane, Women’s Editor of The Guardian (I want her job. Please.), talking about the attitudes of young members of the Guide Association towards feminism. Apparently, only 1/3 of Guides aged 14 to 26 (Senior Girl Scouts, I think, are the equivalent) would be willing to label themselves as “feminists”. This, though, didn’t seem to worry Cochrane. What seemed to concern her most was that girls might still want to be Guides at this age.

I was shocked to read that. I’ll be 18 next week, and therefore a legal adult, but I would not even consider leaving Guiding. When researching universities for September, one of the things I looked for was whether they had a Scout and Guide Society. I’ve been in Guiding since I was seven and I love it. Why should I leave?

Guiding might not be an overtly feminist organisation, but we are the world’s largest all-women movement, and that is something I think we should all value. In Guiding’s 100^th year, it’s amazing that we still manage to unite so many women of all ages under a single banner, bringing them activities which are relevant and, in many cases, empowering.

While many people are talking about how young girls are “growing up too soon”, or becoming overly sexualised at young ages, surely an all-girl space for them to be freed from the constraints placed on them by society must be a good thing? As well as being a Ranger, in a group consisting of eight fifteen to twenty-three year-olds, I’m a Young Leader with a Brownie Unit (Junior Girl Scouts). Last night, we took them to the Lord Mayor’s Mansion in the historic town where I live, and introduced them to a lot of their local history – the kinds of things they’d never learn at school. Two weeks ago, we made cards for Mother’s day. Next week, we’re looking at the human anatomy and how to be healthy, by playing a whole load of amazing games.

Admittedly, most of the things we do with them are fairly stereotypically girly – crafts, for example – but we need to engage them. When they’re all obsessed with Hannah Montana and High School Musical, and when they tend to dress in pink from head to toe when not in uniform, they wouldn’t enjoy other activities – the kind which their male counterparts (Cubs) would. They like what they do, and we give them a space to be innocent, and to be themselves. Surely the opportunities and advantages afforded them by Brownies should not be overlooked.

This, too, I think, goes for Rangers – who are my age. It’s nice, when I’m stressing about my A-levels, and about university applications, and about everything else, to be able to take two hours out per week to be able to sit round with a bunch of friends and have a good time. We, too, tend to do stereotypically feminine things – Ready, Steady, Cook!, jewellery making, pizza-and-movie night – but we also do other things – talking about politics, and feminism, or water fights and camping. The main thing, though, is that we enjoy it. It’s a once-a-week escape from reality. Why, then, would I not want to be a part of it?