{"id":518,"date":"2019-03-07T13:15:23","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T18:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/?p=518"},"modified":"2019-03-07T13:15:23","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T18:15:23","slug":"future-girl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/2019\/03\/07\/future-girl\/","title":{"rendered":"Future Girl"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anastasiya Tsoy<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Traditional gender roles are characterized by having a <\/span>cis <\/span>masculine man as the head of the household who financially supports a family, in some cases is a dictator and external power of the family, and a woman who is feminine, maybe less intellectual, a follower and possesses less strength than a man, but is the soul of household. Gender roles <\/span>are powerful indicators of societal <\/span>norms and expectations. In Western society today, <\/span>we often hear that there are<\/span> \u201cunlimited choices\u201d for girls to express themselves, study and learn new skills such as leadership, public speaking, and social responsibility. However, \u201cunlimited choices\u201d become limited for various groups of girls based on their socio-economical class, racial and ethnic backgrounds, religious affiliations and family structures that lead to disbalance of gender roles, and gender equality in the society.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anita Harris (2004) in her book <\/span>Future Girl <\/span><\/i>created an image of a modern girl who lives in the 21<\/span>st<\/span> century. This girl is an avatar of modern life<\/span> characterized by the<\/span> combination of a desire to play boyish sports and play with dolls, independence and timidity, sexuality and modesty. One of Harris\u2019s type of girls is Can-Do Girls or <\/span>Girlpower<\/span> — a young woman who is independent, successful and self-inventing. In other words, a young feminist who knows what to say, how to act, and how to be a leader. Education is one of the critical factors in a Can-do Girl\u2019s development. <\/span>T<\/span>he idea of Can-do Girl should be seeded in early childhood or at least in the school and should portray the power of education, equality among each gender, and ability reaches professional and personal goals. <\/span>Harris also discussed At-Risk girls who can be influenced and affected by the society in man<\/span>y different ways such as low income, unsupportive environment or bullying. If we imagine a Future Girl by Harris, w<\/span>ho is <\/span>she<\/span> and can we raise<\/span> her?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2013):<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Between 2001 and 2011, the number of full-time male post-baccalaureate students increased by 36 percent, compared with a 56 percent increase in the number of full-time female post-baccalaureate students. Among part-time post-baccalaureate students, the number of males increased by 14 percent and the number<\/span> of females increased by 20 <\/span>percent.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If the current generation of young girls pursue advanced degrees compared to 50 years ago, why <\/span>do <\/span>women still earn <\/span>less<\/span> than<\/span> men? In theory, young girls with higher education <\/span>may <\/span>increasingly <\/span>occupy more prestigious and well-paid job<\/span>s<\/span>, become more financially independent and increase their freedom of speech, but still <\/span>might <\/span>face <\/span>gendered barriers <\/span>during their professional and <\/span>personal growth. <\/span>The<\/span> difference between women and men is <\/span>not simply biological<\/span>, <\/span>it is socially constructed. F<\/span>emininity is formed by the <\/span>society <\/span>and <\/span>created a \u201cpracticed and subjected body on which<\/span> an inf<\/span>erior status has been inscribed<\/span>\u201d<\/span> (<\/span>Bartky<\/span>, 1990). <\/span>T<\/span>he idea<\/span> of feminine woman <\/span>reflect<\/span>s<\/span> socie<\/span>ty\u2019s obsession with keeping a woman in frames so that ma<\/span>n can appear more powerful.<\/span> If we know the education is power, might it be a reason why a Future girl has limited access to it?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If we know that behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning (Bandura, 1977), <\/span>why we do not provide equal education to a Future girl? By giving a Future girl an opportunity to study, the number of<\/span> early marriages, abortions, <\/span>pregnancies <\/span>may decrease<\/span>. Looking to the <\/span>numbers<\/span> of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in London, \u201cWomen who don’t go to university are having children at much the same age as their mothers and grandmothers did\u201d (<\/span>DailyMailUK<\/span>, 2012). <\/span>Structural barriers including lack of<\/span> access <\/span>to <\/span>educational institution <\/span>may <\/span>prevent a Future girl to empower herself by seeing role models in th<\/span>e<\/span> field<\/span> of her interests and <\/span>thus hinder her ability to <\/span>achieve higher goals.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris discussed different challenges that a young girl may face during her development. One of them <\/span>pertains to barriers stemming from<\/span> rac<\/span>ial<\/span> and ethnic<\/span> group membership<\/span>. Different color of skin might stop<\/span> a<\/span> young girl to reach her goal, feel vulnerable and socially isolated. <\/span>For instance, b<\/span>ecause of systemic race and gender discrimination, African American girls are often <\/span>stereotyp<\/span>ed<\/span> before they even enter a school building, and this affects their self-perceptions and self-esteem as well as the perceptions of their teachers (Blake, Butler & Smith, 2009). If we know <\/span>the race and ethnicity play a role in a Future girl self-esteem<\/span>, why we do not <\/span>create conditions to address <\/span>racial<\/span>\/<\/span>ethnic <\/span>bias and in<\/span>toleran<\/span>ce in the education system<\/span>?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Socioeconomic status <\/span>also <\/span>plays <\/span>a<\/span> significan<\/span>t role in developing a Future g<\/span>irl. <\/span>I<\/span>ncome <\/span>has been found to be <\/span>logarithmically associated with brain surface area, \u201cfor every dollar in increased income, the increase in children\u2019s brain surface area was proportionally greater to the lower end of the family income spectrum\u201d (<\/span>Noble et al., 2015<\/span>; <\/span>p.5). <\/span>Th researchers <\/span>claimed that childhood socioeconomic status (SES) characterized by parental educational attainment, occupation and income, is associated with early experiences that are important for cognitive development. <\/span>P<\/span>arental education and family income account for individual variation in independent characteristics of brain structural development in regions that are critical for the development of language, executive functions and memory. <\/span>In fact, l<\/span>ow income might decrease self-esteem during the educational process. Low-income families may have limited access to resources to promote school development, educate children basic skills such as financial literacy, social responsibility and others. If we <\/span>know all of these factors<\/span>, why we do not provide external support to a girl such as free extra curriculum courses on self-care, <\/span>or financial literacy in schools<\/span>?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The unlimited <\/span>choices are visible<\/span>, but in reality, the idea of \u201cunlimited choices\u201d i<\/span>s very blurred. Being a Future girl with own voice is<\/span> not prestigious since most of the times, a girl should go against the wave<\/span> of social norms or traditional gender roles<\/span>, break stereotypes and be confident in her choices. It is very important to understand that developing Can-do Girls<\/span>\u2019<\/span> philosophy, eliminations of circumstances <\/span>and their causes are necessary to create a just society. Since internal factors such as family structure or parental support link to external aspects such as level of confidence, curiosity and ability to develop leadership skills, the society should recognize the importance <\/span>of raising a Future girl. <\/span>The community that raises girls should understand that giving a girl Future may change her life as well as <\/span>liv<\/span>e<\/span>s of the next generation that come forward.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bandura, A. (1977).<\/span> Social Learning T<\/span><\/i>heory<\/span><\/i>. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bartky<\/span>, S. L. (1990). <\/span>Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New York, NY: Routledge.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Blake, J. J., Butler, B. R., & Smith, D. (2009). Challenging middle class notions of femininity:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cause for Black females [48] 19 disproportionate suspension rates. I<\/span>n D. <\/span><\/i>Losen<\/span><\/i> (Ed.) <\/span><\/i>Closing the School Discipline Gap: Research to Practice.<\/span><\/i> New York, <\/span>NY<\/span>: Teachers<\/span> College.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

DailyMailUK<\/span>. (2012). Women Graduates wait until they hit 35 before having their first child.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Daily Mail. <\/span><\/i>Retrieved<\/span> from<\/span> http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2220918\/Women-graduates-wait-hit-35-having-child.html#ixzz3WkeRhJ00\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris, A. (2004). <\/span>Future Girl.<\/span><\/i> New York<\/span>, NY<\/span>: Routledge.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris, A. (2001)<\/span>. Not waving or drowning: Young women, feminism, and the l<\/span>imits of the\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

n<\/span>ext<\/span> wave d<\/span>ebate. <\/span>Outskirts Online J<\/span><\/i>ournal. <\/span><\/i>Vol. 8. May. <\/span>Retrieved<\/span> from<\/span> http:\/\/www.outskirts.arts.uwa.edu.au\/volumes\/volume-8\/harris<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Noble, K.G., Houston, S.M., Brito, N.H., Bartsch, H., Kan, E., <\/span>Kuperman<\/span>, J.M.,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Akshoomoff<\/span>, N., Amaral, D.G., <\/span>Bloss<\/span>, C. S., <\/span>Libiger<\/span>, O., <\/span>Schork<\/span>, N., Murray, S.,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Casey, B. J., Chang, L., Ernst, T. M., Frazier, J. A., Gruen, J. R., Kennedy, D. N.,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zijl<\/span>, P. V., <\/span>Mostofsky<\/span>, S., Kaufmann, W. E., <\/span>Kenet<\/span>, T., Dale, A., Jernigan, T. L.,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sowell, E. R. (2015). Family income, parental education and brain structure in children and adolescents. <\/span>Nature Neuroscience<\/span><\/i> (2015) doi:10.1038\/nn.3983<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). <\/span>Digest of\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Education Statistics, 2012<\/span><\/i> (NCES 2014-2015), Chapter 3.<\/span> Retrieved<\/span> fro<\/span>m<\/span> http:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/fastfacts\/display.asp?id=98<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Anastasiya Tsoy Traditional gender roles are characterized by having a cis masculine man as the head of the household who financially supports a family, in some cases is a dictator and external power of the family, and a woman … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":520,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions\/520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/csp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}