Stop for a second, take a deep breath. Now imagine you’re a teenage girl. What is the first thing you think of? Maybe you think of boys, or clothes. Maybe friends? Or perhaps you thought of music. Boy Bands and BTS? You see, the interesting thing about growing up as a young woman is you realize how much your interests were judged when you were a teenager. There is such a stigma around being a teenage girl and what you should and shouldn’t like and God forbid you have an opinion on anything. You like clothes and boys? That’s so basic, you’re such a girl. Oh? You like playing sports and not wearing makeup? Stop being such a “pick me”. You want to wear short skirts and makeup? You’re asking for it. Do you have opinions on politics and global policy? Stop it, you’re just a little girl, what would you know? No matter what teenage girls like, they can’t win because they are constantly judged for their likes, opinions and thoughts.
Teenage girls have been the decider of trends for years, whether it be fashion, music or film. We are the ones that can make or break a trend. For instance, The Beatles are the biggest paid band in history, selling 250 million units. Crazy, right? Well before the Beatles were accepted by the middle aged dads and men who now swear they were always fans, it was teenage girls that made them big. But because girls’ opinions are deemed insignificant by most of society, they were dismissed as “crazy”, even though they simply really loved this band. Similar can be said 10 years ago, about One Direction. Girls who loved this British boy band were deemed “crazy” because of their deep love and appreciation for the music. Do you see the growing trend of what girls are called just because they like something? Additionally, the music that girls like is deemed not good just because it is girls that like it. One Direction, while actually creating genuinely good music, was pushed aside because the fanbase was predominantly female. If the music was actually bad, girls wouldn’t listen to it. Yet, One Direction remained at the top of the charts for the majority of their time together as a band.
The opinions of girls are deemed less important and valid than everyone else’s, so they are cast aside as “crazy” and the things they like are claimed as unimportant. This misogyny is evident today in the ways in which the western world has come to know BTS. If you don’t know who BTS is, search them up. There was a joke made by James Cordon, that basically stated that the main fanbase of BTS is teenage girls, which is not only inaccurate but also plays into the bigger issue of the fact that whatever girls like, tends to not be taken seriously. Despite the success of BTS, the jokes about girls and what they like, continue to be used to dismiss their interests as insignificant. This is not only an issue when it comes to enjoying current music, because teenage girls also get hate for liking old music like Led Zeppelin, the Arctic Monkeys or any other band ever. When a girl says she likes one of these bands she is told to ‘prove it’ by naming a song, because apparently, you can’t be a fan if you can’t name the band entire discography. Over and over again, we see teenage girls being judged and cast aside for their taste in music for no reason.
As a political science major, most of my days are filled with reading and debating about current hot political topics and yet women being in political places of power is still considered unusual. Obviously, there is a lack of representation in the political world for women and people of colour. That is not a surprise, as white men continue to dominate in the sphere of politics and policy. However, teenage girls are severely dismissed or belittled for their opinions and ideas about what change should occur within a country. When we choose to wear whatever we want and/or dress up, we are told that we are asking for it and are constantly sexualized by these same male politicians. Yet, when young girls have opinions about politics and social issues, we are told to leave it to the adults. So we are old enough to be sexualized, but not old enough to have an opinion on political matters. This is very evident in the way that politicians all over the world dismissed Greta Thunberg and her push for climate action. She was called things such as “deeply disturbed” and “freakishly influential”, as though what she was doing was a bad thing. She is spreading information and knowledge about real issues, yet is undervalued because she is young and female. She’s not the only young woman to be at the receiving end of male politicians’ breakdown, as we see every time a young girl pushes for change. Not to mention the blatant sexism that comes from many political leaders all over the world, most notably the former president Donald Trump. Women in general, but especially young women, are seen as less valuable. Their opinions are dismissed with comments like “get back to the kitchen” or “women are too emotional”. Young girls’ interest in politics and government are constantly dismissed simply because they are women, even though many are arguably better suited for politics and government than boys at the same age.
No matter what you like or participate in as a teenage girl, you will be judged for it. Whether or not it is acknowledged, society finds reasons to justify their misogyny and sexism towards teenage girls. Whether it be through dismissing their opinions on music or belittling their thoughts on politics for one reason or another. The justification may lie elsewhere, but the root cause of their judgement is sexism. As a teenage girl, you will be dismissed and belittled for your likes and made to feel like your opinions don’t matter and like you can never do anything right. One day you will realize that your thoughts are what make you powerful and being a girl is not a detriment, despite the way society can make you feel. Your thoughts as a teenage girl and as a woman are valuable and can change the world.