FWD Girl Scouts

AnneM (AnneM@edc.org)
Fri, 5 Dec 1997 13:43:36 -0500


Forwarded from WISENET by AnneM@edc.org (AnneMcAuliffe)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Girl Scouts
From: Women In Science and Engineering NETwork <WISENET@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU>
at Internet
Date: 12/5/97 11:05

Two recent posts got me thinking...the ad for the "Girl Zone" web site, and
Prof. Szostak's comments on the 1920's Girl Scout Handbook. There's a lot of
discussion out there about helping girls overcome "negative body images," etc.
It occurred to me that even in these "enlightened" web and print resources for
girls, they're still nattering on and on and on about "body image" and
appearance and telling girls about how they're "supposed" to feel about it.
Maybe I'm wierd, but when I was a kid, I resented being told how I was
"supposed" to feel. I was more interested in hearing about women's
ACCOMPLISHMENTS, not their appearance. Even as a teenager, I regarded magazine
articles about appearance (makeup, hairstyles, etc.) to be obsessive, boring,
and shallow. I wanted to DO SOMETHING ELSE. To explore the world, to learn new
skills, to pursue things that I found interesting, to engage in every facet of
"being human," to do something significant with my life, to reach out away from
myself. The Girl Scouts had it right. Teach girls that they can DO many things;
let them know the joy and self-confidence that comes from true accomplishment.
There's a big world out there. Let's teach girls how to sieze the day!

Vickie
WIU Physics

Warrior: "_You_ do embroidery?"
Xena: "I have many skills."


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