it only takes a girl

I made this piece in response to what Laura brought up in class about the use of female exploitation in advertising. It didn't take me long to find an example in a magazine. However, what struck me was the context in which I found the images. I first found the cereal advertisement. It was sandwiched between an article about eating disorders and a story about pageant girls. The pageant girl story was where I found the quote "I hope little girls will see: they can be whatever they want to be", which is questionable in the context of the article, but I won't get into a rant on pageants today. I wanted to contrast the image with the text to show what a confusing world full of conflicting messages girls are raised in.

We also got into a discussion about the qualities of feminism and our generation. Most of the class was saying that our generation does not share a lot of the qualities of feminism because we were essentially raised to believe that we can be what we want to be. Although I agree with parts of that statement, it really the case, its just something we hope is true. I was raised by my dad and brothers to, "know my place". This meaning know how to cook and clean. My grandmother, who raised 3 boys on her own, is the one who taught me how to be independent in case I end up with "two no-good husbands" like she did. I'm sure if my brother didn't get married it would be overlooked, but if I don't think I would hear the end of it if I don't end up married.

Anyway, check this out. This is a shocking and inspiring video for the future girls and women of the world.

I couldn't get it to load so here is the link..... http://front.moveon.org/it-only-takes-a-girl

The only issue I take with this video is at the very end. There are a group of girls standing together and only one of them is black. She is somehow the one holding the sign for HIV/AIDS. But other than that, I think its well done and it makes an important point.