4th quarter post

I would like you to grade Bringing Lunch to School: a privilege?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Raised hands of girls decreasing over time?

Continuing the topic of girls in present day society, I've come across an interesting question about myself: why don't I raise my hand as much any more? When I was in elementary and middle school, if I knew the answer to a question my teacher asked (which, trying not to sound egotistical, was quite often), you could be sure that my hand would shoot straight up at an alarming speed. Remembering my former years in school, my "childhood", I feel strange thinking about how much I loved to raise my hand. I was never aware nor did I care about what other people thought. And come to think about it, I'd like to say that more of girls raised their hands more often too. But why then and not now?

I can think of two specific instances where girls dumb down in the oh so popular movie Mean Girls and Disney's popular High School Musical (one of my favorite of all time no doubt). "Mean Girls" portrays an intelligent and also beautiful high school girl wanting a relationship and this relationship is with one of the popular jocks. In pursuing the relationship, she deliberately fails math tests so she can get him to tutor her. The other instance in "High School Musical" is when Gabriella, arguable one of the smartest girls at the school, covers up her intelligence to win over Troy.



In this book online (you'll have to log into your school account to see it, sorry), the author compares girls in mixed gender classes compared to all female classes. It states that women in womens colleges have "greater self esteem at graduation, have less gender-stereotypic career aspirations, are more engaged in college activities, and are more likely to enter traditionally male professions." This doesn't surprise me. In an atmosphere where girls do not feel the need to dumb down they could reach their full potential at school. This book suggests that boys are the cause of girls dumbing down and I also believe that to be the cause. Teenage girls are usually very self conscious in general so it makes sense that they would hold themselves back seeing that many girls might feel that if they show how smart they are, a guy won't like them. This article quotes a book saying, "Girls in grades six and seven rate being popular and well-liked as more important than being perceived as competent or independent." (Bailey). If this is true, which I believe it is, then girls are dumbing down thinking that guys will like them, so that they can then be "popular and well-liked". Its sad that the reason for this is boys, especially when women are making so much progress in today's society.
But maybe I'm wrong. What do you think?

(To all the guys: please don't hesitate to respond. I'd like to know what you think.)


Reference:
Bailey, S. How Schools Shortchange Girls: The AAUW Report. New York, NY: Marlowe & Company.
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4 comments:

  1. Ellie D.January 11, 2011 at 4:44 PM

    Alex- I agree with you that when girls are in an environment that includes boys, they tend to be more hesitant in speaking their mind. I take the Fit Female for KW (an all girls gym class) and it feels like a completely different universe than all of my other classes throughout the day because it is an extremely open environment and very non-judgmental. When we have discussions in this class, everyone says exactly what they are thinking and doesn't try to sensor their words to impress boys. In KW classes in the past, I have been way more timid and less willing to try hard at sports probably because I felt more self conscious around the boys. I feel like the same thing happens with showing your intelligence.

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  2. Nikita S.January 11, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    I also agree, Alex. But I think that there may be more to this than just the presence of boys in the classroom. Sure, in my all-girls dance class, I feel much less self-conscious of my physical self, but when it comes to intelligence, I don't think the presence of boys has an effect. I think the real reason is the extremely traditional, implicit messages North Shore society sends us. Of all of the parents of my little sister's friends, my mom is the only one who works. Furthermore, the elementary school system schedules meetings during the workday, limiting the members of school support organizations like the PTO to parents that stay at home. Being active in a son or daughter's academic life requires that one parent stays home, and normally it ends up being the woman. These women are our role models, and they play a very conventional part in the household. I think that is another reason, maybe less or maybe more, important than strictly the existence f c-ed classrooms.

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  3. Dani C.January 15, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    Alex,

    I agree that girls censor themselves because of guys, but I think that girls also censor themselves because of other girls. Girls tend to be more catty than guys, so I think a lot of girls think that if they say something then the other girls will start talking behind their backs, etc. I think in today's society girls censor what they say no matter who they are with because they want to impress guys, and be liked by the other girls.

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  4. OCJanuary 25, 2011 at 7:43 AM

    Alex, This is a very thoughtful post. I like your approach here and the outside link, but readers may wonder what led you to consult a 15 year old journal article. Did you go to the library to research your question? Did something else lead you to that article?

    Interesting that 3 girls from class responded, eh?

    Your # of posts is fine. Always quality over quantity.

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