November 07, 2002
A Girl in Capitalism Era
Some parents may thought that it's very difficult to understand their girls. I think, it may happened also to boys who really just very confused to understand their girls, either me too :) Just looking at a new book by photographer Lauren Greenfield reveals the insecurities, dreams and secret rituals of American girls. What emerges is a portrait of two generations growing up too fast.
Just to comment out, one of them said, "Doing something opposite of what someone tells you makes you feel better. It's like, 'Look, I'm a rebel. I'm doing something wrong." Or, you may don't believe comment like this come from a 6 year old girl, "If I don't dress well, I feel geeky. And if I feel nice, I feel like people like me. Fashionable clothing is way better and cool. My mom is fashionable. She blows her hair straight. My mom's pregnant, so I'm going to get a new sister to boss around and dress up with nice, funny outfits and cute, sweet outfits and stuff. When my mom lets me." What a weird world do we?
"The girls in this book range in age from pre-school to post-grad. And Greenfield makes good use of the insecurities of each age, zeroing in on the shame of an 11- year-old at fat camp, emphasizing the anxiety of an up-and-coming actress standing outside her trailer, highlighting the terrible uncertainty of a teenage girl who is banished, by virtue of her rounded face and curly dark hair, from the blonde, slim world of the popular girls," wrote Jessica Reaves in her reviews about this book.
I just watch Wasabi, a Japan-France collaboration movie, starred by Jean Reno (France popular actor) and young Japanese top-star Ryoko Hirosue, she is live as most of japanase girl culture life in hip-hop activity, mall, salon, red-coloring hair, and any colorful accessories. In Jakarta is more likely at the same ways. Is it more like a global fact of any girl in capitalism area? I think it is difficult to answer, it is also as difficult as to answer the same quoestion for boys :p
Here I quoted their nice thoughts:
Britney's a role model. She's fashionable, and she has movements that I like. Madonna, Britney, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child: They're role models 'cause they like action and movement so much.(Teenagers) dress up cool so boys like them. I saw it in a movie. They get dressed so fashionable, like a doll and stuff. They usually do this cool makeup, like lipstick. And a really blushy face. It's cool.
- Lily, 6 years oldWhen guys turn their heads to look at me, they are responding to the fact that I have a pretty face and I'm young and I'm sort of slim. I look like Barbie... The way beauty helps me is obvious in my career. I wouldn't be working as a model. I wouldn't have a manager in L.A., an agent in New York... Life is definitely easier — while your beauty lasts. People, especially of the opposite sex, treat you better.
- Sara, 19 years oldA person like me, who's skinny all over, was not looked at as having a very attractive figure. In fact, they made fun of people like that. They used to call me anorexic, as a joke, because when I started high school, I was very skinny. But at UCLA, I'm told all the time, "Oh, you have the perfect body." Here, the perfect body is slender, like what you see in the magazines.
- Nkechi, 18 years old, an African American girlI would want my daughter to tell me when she's sexually active, so we could get her birth control and teach her stuff about it. I want her to be open with me, like I am with my mom and my sister. I don't want her to (date older guys), but I don't think there's any way I can stop her. If she's going to, I'd rather she let me know than keep it behind my back.
- Christina, 15 years old
Posted at November 07, 2002 11:52 PM | Books
