Who Runs The World? Still Not Girls
This mom wonders will it take The Avengers to make the world fair for girls?
I felt like I’d traveled back in time when I overhead the following conversation in one of my classes. A male student said he’d seen “The Avengers.” A girl in the class said, “Oh, I loved that movie!”
Did the boys say, “Cool! Me, too”? Nope. They laughed. Why? Because, as they said, “The Avengers is a movie for boys.”
When I was in grade school, Gloria Steinem was an active participant in history, not just a historical figure. I understand that no bras were really burned back then, but if they had been, I’d have seen it. So, when I heard, “The Avengers” is for boys, my feminist brain exploded.
“For boys?” I said. “Really? It’s 2012! Just for boys? I can’t wait to see ‘The Avengers’!” This produced further hilarity. According to my male students, The Avengers isn’t a movie for girls, especially girls over 50.
I was relieved that the girls in class were as gob smacked as I over the boys’ unbelievable attitude. Still, it comes on the heels of Disney’s complete redo of “Rapunzel,” after the original version tested poorly with boys. They pumped up the action, dumped the girly fairy tale name and released it as the manlier “Tangled.” My daughter and I, both decidedly female, loved the movie. The sad fact is that it wasn’t made more exciting because girls like exciting movies, though. It was made more exciting to appeal to boys. Interesting to note that Disney’s top executives are all male.
The National Organization for Women was formed in 1966. At the time, girls didn’t play little league or go to med school. When they grew up, they made 58 cents for every dollar a man made, if they had a job at all. It’s been nearly fifty years since then. Little girls have a world of options open to them, but they still grow up and make less than men. At 77 cents per dollar men make, that’s only .004 cents more per year over nearly half a century.
I sometimes run to “Run The World (Girls)” by Beyonce. It’s a “girls rule” kind of anthem and I love it, but I see the lie behind it. True, there are more options than ever available to girls and women these days. But when I run and I hear Beyonce and her background singers chanting “Who run the world? Girls!” I know it’s just bravado.
Girls don’t run the world and telling them they do just seems cruel. Until little boys don’t laugh when little girls love action movies, and grown women make 100 percent of what grown men do, then girls need to know life still isn’t fair.
The Sentinel
7:53 am on Monday, May 14, 2012
This article is a piece of pure...trash. "...my feminist brain exploded" ha! What she means is her sexist brain exploded. There is nothing wrong with things being "just for boys" just as there's nothing wrong with having things that are "just for girls". I wonder if Janice has ever heard the word "chick flick"..normally used for movies that girls like watching but make boys retch. "Whoo Runs The World"? Ya know, I see plenty of women in city, state and federal government. I see plenty of "girls" holding high level jobs in business. I see plenty of "girls" holding jobs such as doctors and lawyers. The absolutely wonderful surgeon who did the surgery I just had is a "girl". Does Janice want a 50-50 split in everything? I hope it bnever happens because when I was working at the HQ of a large retailer, Because of a quota system, I saw "girls" receive promotions they were not qualified for...and most of them failed at t miserably. Girls are even in the Boy Scouts now, which makes no sense as there is a perfectly good Girls Scout organization. Janice, there is NOTHING WRONG with things mean just for boys and just for girls. I suggest you go off into a corner for a time-out and begin to think about topics that DO need addressing, not something as stupid as this.
Janice Lindegard
9:01 am on Monday, May 14, 2012
Thanks for weighing in. Just to clarify, I was commenting on the idea that boys laughed at girls liking the movie, "The Avengers," and the fact that women do not make the same amount of money men do for the same work. Frankly, I don't want "girls" to run the world or "boys" to run the world. I want anyone who has the intelligence and determination to run the world to be able to run the world.
The Sentinel
2:29 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Thanks Janice for the clarification.
Obvoiusly you didn't work at the same company I did. Women who were either hired form the outside or promoted actually, for the most part, made MORE money than men in the same type of job. Like I said, the company had a quota system when it became politically sorrect to put women in the upper level jobs. At the levels many women were hired to, they had to sign five-year contracts and you better believe the money was excellent. When the men in the same levels found out, some quit but most had to abide by the contracts THEY signed.
I haven't seen The Avengers nor do i want to. But I'm guessing it isn't just a boys movie and if they were laughing at the girls, chances are they were just teasing, "being boys" much in the same way girls tease "just being girls". I also expect that the girls gave it right back to the boys.
As far as ruunning the world goes...your title sure made it sound like you were being sexist. I also don't relly care who runs it but I DO care that it's beginning to appear that NOBODY has the intelligence nor determination to run even a [part of thee world man OR woman, especially if you look at the political parties in the US. I, for one, am awful tired of trying to vote for the "least harmful" to the nation.
For the record, I thought Margaret Thatcher did a bang-up job as P.M. I am not impressed at all with Hilary. Good day.
Mary Rayis
5:19 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
The Sentinel writer complained that he or she saw women being promoted only because of a quota system. You might be interested to know that there is a new affirmative action happening on college campuses across the country. It's being applied to males since the dropout rate in college is much higher for boys than for girls. Should I be insulted because a less qualified male took a slot from my more qualified daughter?
Janice is dead right about the attitudes that those young boys displayed being indicative of a larger sense of dismissiveness toward women. The term "chick flick" is another example of the way in which so-called women's concerns are trivialized. I would love to see a world in which anyone who wanted to would feel comfortable enjoying either "The Avengers" or "The Vow" without derision. More importantly, I would like to see a society in which gender equity is realized in such areas as pay, political influence and family responsiblities.
Janice Lindegard
8:16 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Mary, you made my point exactly. Gender equity doesn't mean that half the doctors are men and half are women or that half the teachers are women and half are men. It means that female candidates don't have stories written about what they wore in a debate, female executives don't make less than their equally qualified male counterparts. My husband and I met at work. We had the same number of years of experience. Our work loads and responsibilities were equivalent. He made at least $20,000 more than me.
It is just as harmful for boys to think that certain activities are only for girls as it is for girls to think certain activities are only for boys. Boys can do gymnastics, ice skate, dance and sing. As a child, I was called a "tomboy" because I liked to climb trees and play in the stream near our house. How climbing a tree made me any kind of boy is beyond me.
Mary Rayis
5:22 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
By the way, I don't understand why any girl would want to join a homophobic organization such as the Boy Scouts of America.