We Need to Talk about Society’s Treatment of Teen Girls

 

I recently watched this show called The Wilds (great show by the way) and it opened with a monologue about how hard it is to be teen girl. At first, I rolled my eyes and thought it was melodramatic. However, the more I thought about it, I realized it was right.

There’s this trend that teen girls can just never be happy. People always have to insert their opinion about them when they really could’ve kept that to themselves. I’ve experienced it, and I think most teen girls can say the same. The rise of social media has made this issue even more apparent. People can mock behind their computer screens and face no consequences for bringing down someone just enjoying their life. 

Hobbies are the best example of this. They are meant to make you happy. They are something you enjoy and should not have to justify. We all have them but no one gets judged harsher than young girls. Before I start, try and think of one hobby/activity that a teen girl can have without getting judged for it. It’s pretty hard.

Sports. You’re a young girl who likes sports. You say this and suddenly are bombarded with a 50 question test about sports to prove you actually like them. Someone can say they like something without knowing everything about it. Let the girl like sports and move on. Here’s a tip: if someone does that to you, have a list of questions to fire back…odds are they won’t even know the answers. 

Makeup, hair, clothes, etc. If you don’t wear makeup, you’re tired or sick. If you do, you’re superficial and girly (which is a whole other issue). You just can’t win. The same with hair and clothes. Either you’re lazy/don’t care or you’re too consumed with your appearance. It’s an impossible standard with no way to win. In general, we need to stop commenting on other people’s appearances.

Books. The constant judgement for book choices…which is an extremely subjective thing. If a girl likes YA books (that are literally targeted to her), then she’s lame. If she likes classic literature, then she’s a snob. If she likes graphic novels, then those aren’t real books. What you enjoy reading is personal and people often have different tastes, that’s fine. What’s not fine is insulting someone over the books they want to read.

Media. If they like cheesy shows or rom-coms, then they’re shallow and don’t understand good media. If they like action/superhero movies, then they either don’t actually understand the movies or are “not like other girls.” Like books, media tastes are super subjective. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean everyone else does too.

School. If a girl likes school, then she’s “not like other girls” or thinks she’s better than everyone. If she doesn’t, she’s ditzy or stupid. This also goes for which classes people prefer. STEM classes are a big one. Girls are constantly ridiculed or told they’re not smart enough for those classes which is just untrue.

Do you see the issue?

When I finally sat down and thought about this issue, it was eye-opening.These are just a couple examples but the principle goes for any hobby or passion. They get ridiculed constantly for something that brings joy. You must have a pretty sad life if you enjoy tearing young women down for literally being happy. Instead of insulting a teen girl for something that makes her happy, unpack why you feel the need to do that. Sometimes it’s subconscious bias, but that doesn’t make it okay. The teens are not the problem, society is.  

Young women are constantly questioned for all their actions and society just thinks it’s okay. Maybe people are still holding grudges on the girls that rejected them in high school, but they have to move on. Stop projecting that hate on innocent people. 

This same principle applies for anyone mocking someone for their hobbies and passions but it’s most prominent in teen girls. It’s just rude and unnecessary. You can have your opinions, you can dislike someone, but treat people with kindness. It’s a lot easier to be nice than nasty. 

• hobbies
• sexism
• society
• treatment of women
• women empowerment
• young girls