In September we went to a “Day of the Girl” assembly at Elisabeth Irwin High School. I learned a lot about my civil rights topic at this assembly. At the assembly we got to hear writing pieces written by students from the feminism group at Elisabeth Irwin High School. The students wrote about their experiences growing up as a girl, or what they observe about how stereotypes affect girls.

I learned about how much people are affected by stereotypes and imagery of women, and how they want to make a change. I think that this fieldwork really helped motivate my group to take on the topic of women in the media. Going to the assembly was very moving, it showed me that everyone is affected by the representation of women, and how we all have to stand up to it. I really enjoyed how honest everyone at the assembly was, they told their personal stories and experiences, it was really nice. It felt like a safe environment, where no one would judge anyone else, and I want to create that kind of mood in my group’s teach-in.

One girl talked about how she went to a camp where no one shaved, and how she decided to stop shaving, to prove that girls don’t have to be hairless. That really struck me, and I was impressed by her bravery, because it can be hard to do something like that. It made me realize how much pressure girls are in, physically, and mentally. Through media, they are told that they have to have a certain unattainable appearance, which is only possible because of photoshop and airbrush.

In the assembly, Elisabeth Irwin’s feminist students helped raised awareness in their high school about how misjudged and treated girls are in our society. I want to act in the same way those high schoolers did, I want to raise awareness in our school. At the assembly I learned how much society affects the lives of girls, and I want to change that. I hope that in future field works we will get to help support young girls, and teach them that appearance doesn’t matter. I think this is a good starting point for our social justice projects this year!

The feminist group at EI is run by: Ileana Jiménez

To learn more about Ileana Jiménez’s work, go to her blog: http://feministteacher.com