Her Campus was thrilled to connect with UW-Madison student Caitlin Moran, founder of the newest and coolest student organization on campus, Girls in Real Life. Caitlin created Girls In Real Life this past September as a movement dedicated to improving self-esteem, body image, and relationships among girls of all ages. Caitlin spends each Monday afternoon conducting Girls in Real Life meetings at a local middle school in Madison. During these after school meetings, about 7-11 middle school girls attend and discuss a wide range of issues, varying from the impacts of photo shopping on self-esteem, to bullying, to the rising prevalence of eating disorders. Caitlin maintains one rule for the club: girls may not say anything negative about themselves or other girls, otherwise they are kicked out. So far, the girls have followed this rule, and Caitlin relays “I think [the group] has become a bit of a safe-haven away from stressful middle school life for girls who come.”
As we all can remember, middle school was a confusing time filled with insecurity, identity crises, puberty, and the realization of certain beauty standards that exist in our society. Caitlin reminisces about her own journey through her pre-teen years, explaining “I wish somebody had told me in middle school, when all of my insecurities started, the things that I know now as a 19 year old. That way I wouldn’t still be recovering from the damage that was done so long ago.” In order to stop the cycle of negative body image issues and eating disorders seen in millions of women and girls today, the work that Girls in Real Life does, by reaching out to these middle school girls, is a crucial step in changing our society’s unrealistic standards for women.
Girls in Real Life contributor Ashely Tsai launched an online photography site to spark conversation about different things girls have been told about their bodies. In each photograph (such as the one above), there is a girl who writes on her body something derogatory that has been said about her appearance.
Caitlin also maintains an online blog that serves as a discussion forum for girls to freely talk about the struggles they have faced as women in today’s society, how they have overcome their struggles. It also provides a way to share stories of inspiration and support. Girls are encouraged to submit blogs, which can remain anonymous or can include their name when publishing it. One recent contributor wrote a blog about the importance of women in math and science, and another wrote about body image struggles that often come along with being a dancer.
We asked Caitlin what her favorite aspect of the Girls in Real Life Movement has been thus far. “My favorite part of the organization so far has definitely been seeing people’s reactions. Since I started both the blog and the middle school portion, I’ve had girls come up to me and say that Girls In Real Life is the only reason they stay after school on Mondays, or that a certain blog post made them think about something in a new way, or that the blog is helping them to recover from an eating disorder.” This organization reminds women and girls that they are not alone in their struggles, and that there are ways to overcome their challenges.
We are so excited to see Caitlin’s organization grow, and we will be keeping you updated of her progress. Be sure to check out the group’s blog (https://girlsinreallife.wordpress.com/), and if you have a story you would like to share, message Caitlin through the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/GirlsInRealLife4 to contribute! Tell your friends about this fabulous new organization, “like” them on Facebook, and join the movement.