from: Jessica
As a young girl in my preteens, my mother often told me,“Girl, sometimes I think you believe your 11 going on 21." How right she was. Not just about myself, but most “tweens" nowadays dress and try to act like they are adult females. Depicted is a re-creation of what would seem to be a piece out of any fashion magazine; Young ladies dressed in provocative clothing, heavy makeup, sultry looks, and a lot of attitude. How old would you guess these girls to be? They are only 10, 10, and 13. The point my picture is trying to make is that girls' socialization and gender related attributes are heavily influenced by the media they are exposed to. Each one of these girls is internally beautiful, unique, and is different in stature. Their ambivalent expressions bring to the surface internal conflict young girls may face. Although they are quite different they are the same and should adhere to the social “norms". The black and white harsh contrast depicts the gap between innocence and maturity/ socially acceptable and unacceptable. The picture focuses primarily on their physical attributes, showing what a favored sexy girl would look like, just as any magazine ad, television ad, etc would do. Unfortunately, this message reaches the younger female audience more often than not and gives them the false perception that a young girl should dress and act twice their age.
7 comments:
I agree with Jessica. Nowadays, young girls who are between the ages of 11-16, do dress and act twice their age. I see many of them wear provocative clothing and heavy make-up. You would usually view a preteen girl as young and innocent, like Hannah Montana from Disney Channel, not so grown up and mature. They are definitely influenced by the girls in media. They see them as “sexy” or “beautiful” and want to look and act like them. I remember awhile back when mothers used to complain that Britney Spears is supposed to be a good role model especially for younger girls. The mothers of these girls grew madder when Spears began to act and dress very provocative and her music lyrics became sexual.
Having a daugther near the age of the girls scares me just a little. Knowing how much they are missing by wanted to be older. I am fortunate and know my battle has not begun yet. My daughter has not moved into wanted to be like this and I am grateful for this. But i see her friends and know it is a matter of time. I just hope that she has a level head and understands the risks that come with dressing like this, acting like this, and presenting ones self like this. How much at risk they are for others to treat them poorly, not just physically. The names the whispers behind the back. The once so called friends that are out of the cirlce. Where does the need to dress like this come from. The media, maybe, but where are the parents? They are buying the cloths for these young girls. If they are not how are they getting the money to buy them. Ultimatly the parents should be in control of their childrens lives. Not over control just control to protect them and this is one step to protect your child. Unfortunalty we do not live in a safe world. There are predetors out there around every corner. Like I said before I know my daughter will change but I hope I empower her to do what is best and safe for her to have the best life possible for her. And formost enjoy her childhood it is gone before we know it.
Gorgeous picture :0)
i think that this is a very powerful photo. the three girls are imitating what the see in the magizine. although they are not happy looking they fit in with the modelesque image of today. they all seem pretty depressed. maybe because the are still not happy with the way they look. or maybe they are happy with the way the look but not happy with the way it makes them feel on the inside. it makes me wonder how these girls feel about themselves.
Holy crap...haha....10 10 and 13. Man thats scary that they can look so old on first glance. I feel that when i have kids, I am going to keep my daughter inside all the time..ha. I work in the mall and so i see a lot of high schoolers running around and the question most guys ask is, "did girls look like that in high school when i was in high school?" and the answer is no. Having media be such a huge influence on young girls, i believe, is going to be a problem. I mean kids are getting younger and younger when they start drinking, doing drugs, and having sex. I mean its a scary thought. When i was in school, it was astonishing to hear that girls were starting to have sex at 14... but now, that is becoming more and more common. Thats not good.
On a lighter note, the next time you are in the mall, look at the girls and look at their boyfriends...haha. Because all the girls look like they are 17-18, their boyfriends almost look out of place, seeing as most of them havent even hit puberty yet.
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