Feminism | Posted by LW on 03/8/2011
Guy Friends and Double Standards
As a girl with several, older male friends I am constantly around sexism. I spend nearly all my free time with them as I don’t see them at school. Their favourite name for me is ‘woman’ and the number of times I am asked why I’m not in the kitchen, making them sandwiches, is getting ridiculous. And while I know it’s just a bit of banter, I know that by not saying anything I am being a bad feminist. But to be honest with you, I don’t really mind. I’m usually the only girl and they allow me to be who I need to be without judgement. They are the people who make me feel truly at home, which is ironic as my mother hates them and thinks they are …
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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 02/16/2011
Masculinity: From A Feminine Perspective
It pains me a little bit to say this, but I have to admit it. I’m kind of a hypocrite. I’ve spent over a year on this blog exploring most every facet of being a teen girl in this culture through a feminist lens. I’ve bitched (and rightfully so) about how there’s still a shit ton of sexism out there and how we still need to fight for equality, but I never really mentioned the guys.
While I’ve always supported men in the feminist movement, and believe they need to be a part of it, I’ve always viewed the way masculinity standards shape and effect men as something completely separate from women in this culture and a marginal part of feminism. It wasn’t until I read Michael Kimmel’s book Guyland that …
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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 07/23/2010
Why Don’t Teen Girls Identify as Feminists?
I’ll just get it out of the way: Barnard’s Young Women’s Leadership Institute was an amazing program, and one of the best experiences of my life. We had some really awesome speakers/workshops (including Ingrid Dahl from the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls – awesome) and really engaging teachers. But that’s not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about are the approximately 55 girls who were selected for this program – the future women leaders of America – and what they thought about feminism.
I signed up for this program thinking, “Awesome! I can’t wait for all the insightful feminist conversations I’m going to have! So many young feminists in one place, we’re practically going to take over the world!” And yet, this is not so much …
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