Girls are amazing

Hi this is once again actually GG and I am going to be very serious and talk to you about why girls are amazing. I asked my lovely deputy headteacher to photocopy a survey that I had created last night for my fellow students to complete. I am very surprised about some of the results and hope that it helps you to understand why girls are amazing.

Why girls are amazing:

My results show that more girls like football than boys, and football is not really considered a feminine sport. It also shows that some boys spend time on their clothes or hair which is quite cool because not nearly enough boys care about how they look. 🙄 Also it states that lots of boys like tennis which is sometimes thought of as a more girly sport.

Helen says: we structured the survey to take account of what GG already knows anecdotally. A boy in her class won’t go anywhere  without his hair gel; there  is a strong girls presence in the football team, including GG herself. But there are a couple of other results in there that I think are also hugely telling:

• More girls than boys want to be doctors. I  had my suspicions this might  be the case, and I’m pleased to see that the numbers back them up. 
• LEGO have cracked it. Actually Daddy wanted that question, perceiving that LEGO is more of a boy’s pursuit. I disagreed, and check the results – complete parity across both boys and girls.

To celebrate its 500th edition (currently in shops) Girl Talk magazine have published the results of a recent poll of young girls’ attitudes:

More than a third of girls aspired to jobs in showbiz and their top 10 careers were either caring, artistic or performing – all in roles traditionally thought of as feminine.

So the fact that a high percentage of girls in our school like the idea of being a doctor is something I find encouraging. I asked GG what she imagines herself doing:

I would like to work in a circus as a horse rider because you get to do lots of tricks and you have a good time and a trapeze artist because I am quite daring and I think it would be fun hanging upside down all the time. This startled me, because it’s not something she’s ever mentioned before! The last time we asked, she wanted to open the UK’s first ever dolphin swim attraction – she even has the business plan for it! I do love the fact that she’s attracted by the daring and the skill though, rather than the sequins.

Girl Talk were also concerned by who young girls are impressed by:

With the exception of children’s writer, Jacqueline Wilson, the Top 10 most admired celebrities were all singers or actors. Sportswomen, politicians and businesswomen barely registered on the list.

Again, I asked GG – which adult women do you most admire?  My mum because she is kind and she does a lot for me; my school teacher because when you ask her for help she comes and helps you and also she’s an amazing teacher; and Jessica Ennis because even though she had a few fails in her career she kept going until she got there.

Girl Talk also asked girls which attributes they would most like to be associated with:

… an overwhelming 80% of young girls wanted to be referred to as “pretty”, “kind” and “funny”, with only 20% choosing “clever”, “strong” or “brave” as important attributes.

I love how my daughter answered this question: how would you like people to describe you? I would like people to describe me as kind and helpful as well as funny and cheerful because I try hard to make people laugh and I like to help people as much as I can. I hope they would also think I’m hard-working, because I am.

Something which annoys me though, is the feminist backlash that occurs every time a girl plays with a Barbie doll. I’ve been criticised for allowing my daughter to buy products from Lush. There’s a whole other post in this, but for now let me state what I’d like girls to know:

• It’s ok for girls to play with Barbie dolls. It’s fine for boys too. It’s just a doll.
• It’s ok for you to like nail polish, popstars, and bubble bath. This does not make you any less likely to achieve your goals.
• You can be intelligent, hard-working, and ambitious, and still adore baking cakes, or designing dresses. Boys like to bake too.
• Boys are no better than you. But neither are you better than them. Don’t let feminists tell you what to think.
• You can be the next Olympic medallist, as well as having sequins on your red dress. Dame Sarah Storey shows how it’s done.

Girl Talk want to change the way girls think about themselves, and challenge the “narrow ideal” about what it means to be a girl. With their new #GirlsAreAmazing campaign they have pledged  to include more editorial about inspiring women, confidence tips, opinion pieces from readers, as well as profiling a wider variety of careers and role models.

Girl Talk want to hear from your girls too, so please encourage them to get involved:

• Grab a copy of the magazine to see each issue’s #GirlsAreAmazing challenge – the current  issue’s challenge is to express yourself with a word or  a video.
• Tell them why you think girls are amazing; what do you do that’s awesome?
• Do you know an amazing girl who has inspired you?
• Is there something in the world that you’d like to change?
• Grab a pen or email and let them know:  hello@girltalkmagazine.com

Girls Are Amazing
Girl Talk
Immediate media
44 Brook Green
London
W6 7BT

We received a years subscription to Girl Talk for GG. All editorial copy and opinions are our own.