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Re-Defining Gender Expectations Through Girls’ Coalition Groups

Re-Defining Gender Expectations Through Girls’ Coalition Groups. National Conference on Girls’ Education April 11, 2012 Emily Brostek , MPH, CHES Training Institute Manager. About Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

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Re-Defining Gender Expectations Through Girls’ Coalition Groups

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  1. Re-Defining Gender Expectations Through Girls’ Coalition Groups National Conference on Girls’ Education April 11, 2012 Emily Brostek, MPH, CHES Training Institute Manager

  2. About Hardy Girls Healthy Women • Envisioning a world where girls experience independence, safety and equality in their everyday lives • Programs for girls • Training and resources for adults who work with girls

  3. Overview • Challenges facing girls today • Cultural landscape of girls • The solution: Girls’ Coalition Groups

  4. What Challenges Do Girls Face Today?

  5. Challenges of Adolescence • Psychological struggles • Drop in self confidence & self-esteem • Struggles with body image & disordered eating • Increase in depression, suicidal thoughts, self-cutting behavior • Behavioral issues • Fighting • Drugs • Early sexual activities

  6. Why Is This Happening? Girls aren’t the problem – they’re the solution!

  7. Media Use and Kids • 8-18 year olds spend 7.5 hours/day using entertainment media • Can pack 10 hours and 45 min of content into those 7.5 hours with ‘media multitasking’ • 11-14 year olds get close to 12 hours/day of entertainment media Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2009.

  8. What Messages Are They Hearing?

  9. The Cultural Landscape of Girls Girl as Consumer Citizen

  10. Marketer’s Schemes “If you don’t target the consumer in her formative years, you’re not going to be relevant through the rest of her life.” –Proctor & Gamble

  11. The New Girl Power The power to… • Make yourself over • Shop • Be hot • Fight • Choose among different TYPES of girls to be

  12. The Power To Shop

  13. The Power of Makeovers

  14. And the Makeovers Start Early…

  15. The New Dora

  16. One Way to Grow Up

  17. The Power To Fight

  18. Girl Fighting (not girl helping)

  19. Girlfighting Can Sell Anything

  20. The Real Impact of Girlfighting in the Media

  21. The Power to Party

  22. The Power To Be Sexy

  23. Eroding the Boundaries

  24. American Psychological Association Report on the Sexualization of Girls • What is sexualization? • A persons’ value comes only from his or her sexual appeal • Physical attractiveness=sexiness • A person is sexually objectified • Sexuality is inappropriately imposed on someone (ie, children)

  25. Consequences of Sexualization • Ability to concentrate and focus • Mental health problems (eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression) • Unhealthy sexuality • Negative impact on own sexuality • Negative impact on others and society

  26. What Can We Do?

  27. Changing Our Perspective • From individuals to relationships and community • From deficits to strengths • From surviving to thriving

  28. Cultivating Hardiness Zones Hardiness is… • A way of talking about strength and resilience • Moves beyond an individual girl’s problems, her “odds-defying” behavior, or her need for “one caring adult” • Focuses on the social context • What kind of relationships and communities does she need to grow and thrive?

  29. Starting with Girls’ Strengths • Desire to be heard and taken seriously • Courage “to speak one’s mind with all one’s heart” • Capacity to name and get angry at injustice and hurt • Desire for real connections • Potential to work and have fun together

  30. The Solution: Girls Coalition Groups

  31. Creating Coalitions • Coalition – a group of people who share a value system and a purpose • Allies (not necessarily friends)

  32. Being a Muse • Source of inspiration • Recognize and draw out girls’ genius • Focus on inner resources • Relational model –both possess vulnerabilities and strengths; both contribute to the relationship. Amy Sullivan, 1996.

  33. From Adversaries to Allies A curriculum to help you… • Create an active coalition of girls • Provide activities and facilitation for group discussion • Give girls a foundation for social change

  34. What Girls Are Saying “I learned a lot…that being beautiful isn’t something out of a magazine. It isn’t a model or people on TV because those people aren’t real. They do all that stuff with the computer and brush up things. Beauty isn’t something that’s all looks either it’s something inside and it’s who you are and what you do.” -7th grader

  35. What Girls Are Saying “I trust everybody in the group and I tell everybody everything now. Like if I have a problem against them I’ll tell them and they tell me and we always fix it and everything. It’s helped a lot.” - 8th grader

  36. Getting Started • How many? • 6-12 girls in a group • How often? • Meet for 45-60 minutes per week through school year

  37. From Adversaries to Allies: Overview • Unit 1: We’re In This Together • Unit 2: Researching Girl Culture • Unit 3: Media Madness • Unit 4: Girlfighting • Unit 5: Family

  38. From Adversaries to Allies: Overview • Unit 6: Moving Beyond Cliques and Clubs • Unit 7: Sexual Harassment • Unit 8: From Object to Subject – Healthy Dating Relationships • Unit 9: From Adversaries to Allies

  39. Activity Example: Becoming an Ally “An ally is a member of a group or team who believes she can make a positive difference for other girls!”

  40. Activity Example: Real Life Barbie

  41. Expect Challenges! • Balance between sticking to school’s rules AND standing with girls no matter what • Stay professional • Create a safe space for girls’ voices • Come prepared for meaningful conversation

  42. Questions?

  43. Annual Summer Institute Navigating Girlhood: A Summer Institute When: June 13-15, 2012 Where: Waterville, Maine Details: Up to 18 hours of continuing education credits

  44. Upcoming Webinars Challenging the BMI: Body Mass Index or Body Myth Insanity? With Margo Maine, PhD When: February 29, 1-2:30 pm EST Cost: $29.95 Sparking Girls’ Activism and Social Change With Lyn Mikel Brown, EdD When: April 10, 3-4:30 pm EST Cost: $29.95

  45. Upcoming (Free) Webinars Powered By Girl: How To Build a High School Media Activism Group When: February 20, 4-5 pm EST March 13, 4-5 pm EST April 24, 4-5 pm EST Cost: Free Girls’ Schools as Hardiness Zones: Empowering Girls at School When: April 25, 4:30-5:30 pm EST Cost: Free

  46. Thank you for your participation!www.hghw.org/traininginstituteQuestions? Comments?Contact Emily Brostek, Training Institute Manageremily.brostek@hghw.org

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