girls

Tonight at 7PM, Kathleen Sweeney–who I enjoyed meeting at WAM! last weekend–will be reading from her new book, Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age here in NYC at Bluestockings. Sweeney, a girls studies scholar, charts the pantheon of new girl icons that have surfaced in the past 15 years. From the book’s description:

“Maiden USA explores images of powerful, contradictory pop culture icons of the past decade, which run the gamut from Mean Girls and their Endangered Victims to Superheroines and Ingenue Goddesses. Are girls of the Title IX generation in need of Internet protection, or are they Supergirls evolving beyond gender stereotypes to rescue us all?”

The book provides an overview of girl trends since the ’90s including the emergence of girls’ digital media-making and self-representation venues on MySpace, Facebook and YouTube as the newest wave of Girl Power. With brainiacs and athletic champions offered as antidotes to mean girls and lolitas, and with the emergence of self-representation venues on the internet, what is the significance of such contradictory imagery for the culture at large? Sweeney will address this question and also show animations created by teenage girls from across the country. FUN!!

I had big fun meeting Nancy Gruver (pictured left) this weekend, at the WAM! conference. Nancy is the genius behind the print mag New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams–which has recently relaunched as New Moon Girl Media, “an international girls’ empowerment company dedicated to bringing girls’ voices to the world.”

As my gal Julia Barry (of In Her Image fame) tells me, they’ve now launched a growth plan to reach a wider age-range and global demographic of girls, which includes LunaVida, an online club for girls aged 8-12, and orb28.com, the web community for and by girls aged 13-15+. These are girl-only, ad-free environments where girls can be themselves, share their creativity, connect with other girls, and get accurate information on issues they care about. Meanwhile, for grown-up girls (and grown-up boys), founder Nancy hosts a blog on the site called the Parent’s/Adult Blog.

Congrats to all over there, and how wonderful it’s been watching New Moon grow from sliver to full moon. I remember when the magazine first pubbed in the early ’90s, and how tempted I was to quit what I was doing and go work for ya’ll.

(PS. We’re experiencing minor font difficulty over here–should be back to normal soon! – GWP)

Personally, I think we should have Girls Write Now Month! But I’ll settle for a day.

To commemorate International Women’s Day, GWN is hosting several fantastic readings and, in collaboration with SIC (Smart Is Cool) Movement, a fashion show, all at the New School next Saturday, March 8 (5-7pm). It’s a day to encourage girls of all ages everywhere in the world to put pen to paper and explore the beauty and power of their unique, creative voices. And it’s a day to celebrate girls, girl writers, and overall girl awesomeness.

For more information, please contact nikki@girlswritenow.org.

In the latest Women’s Media Center Exclusive, Sara Voorhees reports on the findings of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Children in the Media (GDIDM). Here’s the summary:

“For actress Geena Davis, who had galvanized women with movies such as Thelma and Louise and A League of Their Own, and her recent television role as the first female president of the United States (Commander in Chief), ‘where are the girls?’ was a question that needed to be answered. She started her own non-profit, and with the help of USC Annenberg School of Journalism professor Stacy Smith, Davis began research to assess portrayals of males and females in children’s media. On January 30 and 31, 2008, at the University of Southern California, under the auspices of GDIDM, she presented the findings at a forum for studio heads, writers, educators and students.”

Findings available here.

This is my baby cousin, Lia, with a pen, and making her cyberspace debut. I just couldn’t resist.

(Got a picture of a girl with pen you’d like me to post? Send it my way!)

After all that Valentine’s Day posting yesterday, thought I’d share some red of a different sort today.

On Feb. 28, six of the amazing teen women from the collection Red: The Next Generation of American Writers—Teenage Girls—on What Fires Up Their Lives Today will be at the Tenement Museum Shop here in NYC. Many of these girls, daughters of immigrants and daughters of New York, will read from their published work and be introduced by their editor, Amy Goldwasser. I heard the girls read at the book’s launch party a few months ago, and agree that they are strikingly honest documentarians of their own lives. And, as the event description notes, “they believe they can effect change, stop cutting themselves, stop global warming, stand up to bullies and racists, be president. They are the best shades of red (not pink), a little bit angry, a lot passionate, fired up, primary-color invested in their causes.”

Thursday, February 28, 6:30 PM
Tenement Museum Shop
108 Orchard Street at Delancey
212-982-8420; events@tenement.org

Free!

It’s (gulp) mine this Friday. Yep, on February 15, 1969, a day that women on the coasts were busy protesting bridal fairs, my mother crossed the street to a Chicago hospital, braved a blizzard, and pushed me out. I *just* (kinda) made the sixties.

And now, I’m celebrating the beginning of the last year of my thirties by sharing some birthday love. I know both Democratic candidates are asking for money every day. I know this because I’m on both their email lists. But regardless, I’m putting a request out into the universe that anyone who feels inclined might consider a little donation to one of my favorite orgs, Girls Write Now. To send them a valentine of support, and totally make my day too, click here!

Just learned this piece of bad news, via the Council on Contemporary Families:

According to an article in WaPo last week by Laura Sessions Stepp, Latinas ages 12 to 17 –- the largest minority group of girls in the country –- are more likely to try to take their lives than any other racial or ethnic group their age. Twenty-five percent say they’ve thought about suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 15 percent attempt it, compared with approximately 10 percent of white and black teen girls. Luis Zayas, a psychologist and professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis, is in the middle of a five-year study of more than 150 young Latina girls who have attempted suicide. As experts note, Latina girls rarely seek help partly because they and their parents are suspicious of mental health services and believe in keeping family troubles in the family. And, as Stepp notes, American popular culture encourages girls to be sexy and assertive, but the families of many young Latinas prize girls who are modest and submissive. As they’re pulled in different directions, there’s increasing evidence of their distress.

You can now read about it, on the GWN blog, here.

And in case you missed this one, you can catch Girls Write Now next at the New School on March 8 (5-7pm), for a beautiful celebration of International Women’s Day, and GWN’s 10th anniversary too! Anne Landsman will be guest reading, along with the girls, and there’s a reception to follow. Other surprises lined up as well. More on it all here.

Hey–check out the vibrant conversation going on in comments over at feministing around Courtney’s Thursday post (“Must We Fear Adolescent Sexuality?”), which links back to fresh research mentioned in sociologist Virginia Rutter’s review of Juno here on GWP. (Thanks, C, for posting!)