BY SEVINCH RAKHIMOVA
The girly girl trope, part 2
To begin with, I have a strong feeling that everyone would agree with me if I said that "girlyness" or femininity has been perceived differently in the last few years than it has been several centuries ago.
I'm talking about the times when characters like Aphrodite or Helen of Troy were seen as strong, noble, powerful as well as enchanting women who were able to start wars, save lives, and make armies of intrepid soldiers spend years fighting for them, but now the fact that you are a feminine girl can and will be able to inevitably make people, who have not even talked to you once, jump into conclusions and start assuming how dumb, helpless, boy obsessed and probably evil you are (Thank you, Hollywood).
Most girly/feminine characters in movies and TV shows are often portrayed as mean heartless and morally disgusting characters who were lucky enough to be born with angelic doll faces and love for the color pink (Rachel McAdams from “Mean girls”) or an air head who is in constant seek of a wealthy man to get romantically involved with. And yes, the idea of trying to pull their life together by working hard enough to be able to pay their own bills either physically disgusts or simply never, I repeat, never crosses the minds of such characters.(Lorelei Lee from “Gentlemen prefer blondes”)
I'm talking about the times when characters like Aphrodite or Helen of Troy were seen as strong, noble, powerful as well as enchanting women who were able to start wars, save lives, and make armies of intrepid soldiers spend years fighting for them, but now the fact that you are a feminine girl can and will be able to inevitably make people, who have not even talked to you once, jump into conclusions and start assuming how dumb, helpless, boy obsessed and probably evil you are (Thank you, Hollywood).
Most girly/feminine characters in movies and TV shows are often portrayed as mean heartless and morally disgusting characters who were lucky enough to be born with angelic doll faces and love for the color pink (Rachel McAdams from “Mean girls”) or an air head who is in constant seek of a wealthy man to get romantically involved with. And yes, the idea of trying to pull their life together by working hard enough to be able to pay their own bills either physically disgusts or simply never, I repeat, never crosses the minds of such characters.(Lorelei Lee from “Gentlemen prefer blondes”)
How does feminism affect the way we perceive beauty today?
I don't want to dive too deep into the history of feminism right now, (which I am undoubtedly going to do in one of my upcoming articles) but it's crucial to remember how men were given approximately every right they have right now, whereas women weren't even allowed to take part in choosing, who would be the head of the country which they had been living for their entire lives in, neither they were seen as people who were equal to man. And of course women weren't considered a valuable part of society either.
According to the patriarchal mindset of the last few centuries women were only needed for doing the chores, bearing and raising children, and, of course, pleasing men.
But the situation has thankfully altered with the rise of feminism. Finally, women started being heard and seen while expressing their minds, speaking up about male oppression, and letting the world know that they are more than just a bunch of pretty faces and hot bodies a man could drool over. On one hand, it's a truly beautiful and phenomenal thing that should be remembered and celebrated. On the other hand, radical feminism made us all think that dresses, make up, fashion, and feminine attractiveness are evil and patriarchal aspects of women's lives that should be gotten rid of. Which is a part of the reason why girly girls are being looked at as the epitome of what a strong and smart woman SHOULDN'T be.
According to the patriarchal mindset of the last few centuries women were only needed for doing the chores, bearing and raising children, and, of course, pleasing men.
But the situation has thankfully altered with the rise of feminism. Finally, women started being heard and seen while expressing their minds, speaking up about male oppression, and letting the world know that they are more than just a bunch of pretty faces and hot bodies a man could drool over. On one hand, it's a truly beautiful and phenomenal thing that should be remembered and celebrated. On the other hand, radical feminism made us all think that dresses, make up, fashion, and feminine attractiveness are evil and patriarchal aspects of women's lives that should be gotten rid of. Which is a part of the reason why girly girls are being looked at as the epitome of what a strong and smart woman SHOULDN'T be.
Conclusion
In my opinion, there is an enormous shortage of characters in movies and TV shows that could explain how okay it is to want to be girly. And at the same time it shows that a sparkly doll playing, pink loving girl can be your next president, the CEO of The World Bank, or the most outstanding lawyer you have ever met.
All we need is to stop this indeed misogynistic movement of portraying beautiful young women who care about how they look, as evil and/or dumb. We need more characters like Barbie, Elle Woods and Winx. We need those women to be an empowerment for real-live girly girls, help them feel good in their own skin and understand that being like “most girls” is actually not a bad thing. Because I don’t know about you, but most girls I've met tend to be phenomenal people with ambitions, dreams, and aspirations which are not and can not be deteriorated by their femininity or love for fashion.
In my opinion, there is an enormous shortage of characters in movies and TV shows that could explain how okay it is to want to be girly. And at the same time it shows that a sparkly doll playing, pink loving girl can be your next president, the CEO of The World Bank, or the most outstanding lawyer you have ever met.
All we need is to stop this indeed misogynistic movement of portraying beautiful young women who care about how they look, as evil and/or dumb. We need more characters like Barbie, Elle Woods and Winx. We need those women to be an empowerment for real-live girly girls, help them feel good in their own skin and understand that being like “most girls” is actually not a bad thing. Because I don’t know about you, but most girls I've met tend to be phenomenal people with ambitions, dreams, and aspirations which are not and can not be deteriorated by their femininity or love for fashion.
