Service Learning Rational

Girls Power Play

Right when we are born we are gendered. The little pink and blue blankets hold so much more baggage than just a warming device. They hold roles, normative behaviors, and body ideals. “Historically, studies that explore “childhood” broadly, or the experience of growing up generally, have often been based to represent the experiences of boys” (Lipkin 4). They study boys and apply the same information to girls even though our gender roles and experiences are different from the time of birth. It is important to understand girls because our experiences are different. Girls have expectations placed on them and also preconceived notions are given to them too. It is important to not study girls only from the anglocentrism lens (Griffin 29). Everyone is different because race and class intersect and it is important to recognize those differences from white privileged girls. Each group of girls has preconceived notions attached to them creating a tightrope which girls have to tread on carefully. “Girls are told they can be leaders and it's okay to be smart, but they then may be critiqued for being too ambitious or too pushy, a process that doesn't necessarily change when they grow into women” (Lipkin 12). Girl's learning strength and leadership is important because it educates them on the societal pressures placed on girls; this education is intended to implement change in our societal construction of girlhood.

In our readings from “The Body Project” there were discussions about women working with adolescent girls that I thought was interesting, especially considering we are working with YWLP. The quote is on page 18 and it says “Most of this entire protective umbrella meant that girls had many projects-other than their own bodies-to keep them busy and engaged”. I don’t necessarily agree with the whole “protective umbrella” thing but I like how it talks about keeping girls engaged in projects rather than focusing on their bodies. By giving them activities where they can still see what their bodies can do but also focusing on leadership and teamwork; helps them to see what they can achieve and not just focusing on the body as an all-consuming project.

Also from another chapter we’ve read in Body Projects; the author states that before the twentieth century, girls simply did not organize their thinking about themselves around their bodies-especially shape, size, and muscle tone-because they believe that the body is the ultimate expression of self (97). The author also states that the body is a consuming project for contemporary girls because it provides an important means of self-definition, a way to visibly announce who you are to the world (97). I believe what we are trying to do with this project is help girls to see that the body is not an all-consuming project and to focus less on what their body looks like and more on what their bodies can do and help them achieve.

This project is relevant to our Girls and the Body course, as well as the Girls Studies movement; because it is a project geared directly toward having girls create and develop their strength and ability that can move themselves forward. All teenagers can learn about leadership and define for themselves what it means.  It is important that these girls understand they are young leaders in their day-to-day lives, and that leadership is not reserved for adults or for those in formal leadership positions. Leaders are those who think for themselves, communicate their thoughts and feelings to others, and help others understand and act on their own beliefs; they influence others in an ethical and socially responsible way. Through our activities the girls will have the opportunity to recognize and then utilize the leadership skills which they already possess, and in doing so they will be able to further develop other leadership qualities as their years and experience progress.

Action:

In order to fulfill our service-learning requirement, our group has several different components that we will be implementing. We will be working with the girls at UCF Days, through four different group activities, we will engage the YWLP participants in a setting in which they can experience leadership through the functionality of the body. Following the activities, we will facilitate a guided discussion connecting body experience with applied leadership.

Discussion Questions:

1)         What did it feel like to use your body in different ways in different activities?

2)         How did you display leadership during the activities?

3)         What did you have to do differently during the challenges when you weren’t allowed to speak, move, or see?

4)         Were there times when you used your body to lead? When you used your body to follow? What did you find was effective, and what was ineffective? Did you feel uncomfortable at any times?

These questions will be used in a group setting after completing the activities for UCF Days.  We hope that the girls can share their experiences from the activities with us, and gain some insight of what they have the ability to do. As in “At home in my body” Torres speaks of how “she learned to reach her goals, her mind had to be convinced that her body could do the impossible”, I hope that these girls can come to the same conclusions while having fun doing our activities for the day.

Works Cited:

Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Random House, 1997. Print.

Griffin, Christine. "Good Girls, Bad Girls: Anglocentrism and Diversity in the Constitution of Contemporary Girlhood." All About The Girl . Ed. Anita Harris. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Lipkin , Elline. Girls' Studies. Berkeley: Seal Studies, 2009. Print. pg 29

Torres, Allison.  “At Home in My Body.”  Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image.  Ed.  Ophira Edut.  Emeryville, CA:  Seal Press,  2003.  219-224.  Print.