"Hell is a Teenage Girl."

So I also wanted to open the discussion about the Gurlesque, Tuesday's visit from Danielle Pafunda and what everyone else’s thoughts were.

(I apologize, I was not in class on Thursday so hopefully this isn’t just repeating what’s already been discussed)

I thought it was an interesting concept that was discussed, however, I questioned what it really means to place “girl” as the subject. I think what felt ambiguous was what defines a “girl” and in what context (for example, Arielle Greenberg’s idea of girl or the perspective of a white middle-class girl and how that differs). Also, what is the importance of “girl” as opposed to “woman”—what and where are the distinctions and why is this important to feminism?

What really struck me was when Danielle stated that: “A girl is the silliest thing you can be”.

I honestly had never thought about this in a feminist framework before, but when you separate girl into its own category, aside from feminism, there definitely is a stereotypical persona of what a teenage girl is and should be. This also goes back to that question about whether its socially constructed or its some biological factor that makes them erratic, dramatic, angry, stupid, shallow, slutty, etc. etc. etc. emotional messes from about 13-19 (obviously that’s arguable).Yet, every problem she faces seems to be a testament to her hormones. There is hardly any validity in what a teen girl feels or has to say, especially if she goes in say “like” and ‘whatever” every 3 words like Danielle mentioned in class ---you wouldn’t go try and bass a legislative bill talking like that. So what I’d really to ask is“why”? This is the question I keep asking myself and though it seems ridiculously obvious "like, of course being a girl is silly,duh", I just think it’d be really interesting to deconstruct why the subject of teenage girl is seen as so “silly” in society, and what does this genre of Gurlesque do as a response? What are the consequences of how teenage girls are perceived in society and literature to feminism?

Also, this is somewhat off topic but episode 4 of Parks and Recreation this season was a great discussion on gender conflict. If you don't already watch the show I'd definitely recommend watching this episode! But anyway, these clips are just for fun.

Quick recap: there is rivalry between a Pawnee Rangers (think boyscouts) that Ron Swanson leads and a troop called the Pawnee Goddesses that Lesley Knope has started because when she was young she wasn't allowed to be a ranger. She wants Ron to admit her group is better and more fun, but he won't. Until one of the boys decides that he would rather be in the goddesses than the rangers (uh oh, the gender line is bent), leslie says no at first that it should be just for girls, but then they of course have a "public forum" and the girls argue that isn't this the same reason she started the Goddesses, to be treated equally? So now, boys start joining the goddesses and declare themselves as strong self-empowered women. How do you deal with that scenario? I personally thought this was a great answer to the whole feminist dilemma. This episode really has great material for discussion on the issue of gender.

Watch these clips below:

The Pawnee Rangers:




The Pawnee Goddesses