Someone Like Me

What are girls facing today? In the social sphere their facing peer pressure, complicated cliques, relationships with boys (sexual), and all around drama. In the family sphere they're trying to figure out how to express themselves at home, how to separate themselves from sibling, and develop their own identity. And then in the cultural sphere they're battling beauty advertisements, dieting ideals, music videos, "proper" make-up and skin up-keep, and so forth. Even at school girls are facing gender stereotypes. The curriculum is set in gender stereotypes. For example, very few women are brought up in history lessons and if they are discussed they tend to fall under two different categories. First there are the women who fit into the traditional gender rolls like Betsy Ross who sewed the American flag (Wood, 2011). The "second group of women highlighted...distinguished themselves on men's terms and in masculine contexts" (Wood, 2011, p. 192). An example given of this type of woman is Mother Jones who was an organizer for unions (Wood, 2011). If girls can't even learn about women in their own history, then how do they find someone to look up to? They look to the media.

Lindsey Lohan may find herself in jail soon because of theft and drug abuse, Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) has reached her teen years and has rebelled by getting tattoos (nothing wrong with that mind you) and smoking marijuana. Paris Hilton...I don't think I need to explain why she isn't a good role model. Who do girl have to look up to? How, in this day and age with sex parties (e.g. rainbow parties) and drug parties (e.g. pharm parties), all the negative media messages, and holes in their own history do they grow up to be strong, confident, brave women?

Who needs celebrities to look up to when girls can look up to the young women in their own lives? Smart Girls offers just that. A lot of people see Smart Girls as another form of a youth group outside of religion, but it's so much more than that. The roll playing and games the girls play in each session actually teach the girls a deeper lesson. For example we play a game called Someone Like Me. Someone stands in the middle and says, "I'm looking for someone, someone like me who..." and they say something like, "plays soccer" and those who have played soccer walk briskly through the circle to find a new spot. It's very much so like musical chairs, but with a twist. This game, while fun, shows girls what they have in common and helps build friendships with girls they never would have been friends with whether it be because of social status, peer pressure, or their own generalizations of their peers. We teach them positive self talk and how to keep positive not only about their physical self, but also their personalities. We also show them videos from youtube.com that have lesson behind them. 

Bullying is also addressed: how to prevent it and what to do if they find themselves being bullied, or are the bully themselves. We talk about boys, relationships, family issues, academic hardships, friends, and other touchy subjects. We offer a safe, non-bias, non-judgmental environment for the girls in our group so they feel welcome, the feel trust, and they can be themselves and have fun. Which is also what any of us really want, but the most important thing we do in Smart Girls is we talk about every thing we do with the girls. It's not about us, it's about them and what they learn. Our job is to give them the tools to use throughout their lives to accomplish what seems impossible.

I'm looking for someone, someone like me who feels good about themselves, accepts who they are, and can truly be themselves. Ready...set...RUN!

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Education: Communication in Schools. Gendered lives: communication, gender, and culture (9th ed., pp. 187-205). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.