June 05, 2014
Feminism For Five Year Olds
The Vagenda featured an article in which the author laments on her days as a 90s child, remembering the UK publication Girl Talk Magazine’s more innocent days. As the writer puts it: “where you could happily find sheet music for your recorder printed next to a photo-novel about you and your BFF wearing matching outfits to a party. It was all in good fun.”
But times have changed, and so have magazine publications, even the wholesome Girl Talk had to move away from the glittery plastic dogs to promote Beiber Fever. Today in an age of photoshopped unrealistic beauty standards, and the negative effects they are having on young girls, the editor of Girl Talk Magazine, Bea Appleby, decided to move past this phase to a new one: feminism. This starts with a Girl Talk pledge, “I will love myself the way I am” and followed by their “Girls Are Amazing” campaign.
There is such a hypersexualization of celebrities and popstars – Miley has certainly moved past her Hannah Montana days - and it is important for young girls to start valuing women based on what they do rather than their appearance. Promoting self-worth, and instilling a sense of equality and choice into young girls’ lives is certainly something we need more of. Things are definitely changing for the better, and this is just one indication. Now if they could have an adult version of that kind of magazine, that’d be great.
There is such a hypersexualization of celebrities and popstars – Miley has certainly moved past her Hannah Montana days - and it is important for young girls to start valuing women based on what they do rather than their appearance. Promoting self-worth, and instilling a sense of equality and choice into young girls’ lives is certainly something we need more of. Things are definitely changing for the better, and this is just one indication. Now if they could have an adult version of that kind of magazine, that’d be great.