Looking forward - supporting girls with becoming young women

[xxyzz]

Two great pieces of news today: Keira's victory in court, and Joanna Cherry's (and allies) victory in Scotland.

Great to hear that the grown-ups are back in the building. But thinking about Keira's case, and about the future for women more generally, while today's judgement should notably call a halt to children (largely girls) undergoing unnecessary surgery and taking dangerous untested drugs in the UK, it won't on its own stop those same girls transitioning once they're a bit older. It's awful that we live in a society that is so misogynistic that young girls feel the only way they can achieve happiness is by opting out of being women altogether (via drastic surgery and dangerous, untested drugs).

As well as cutting off the supply of these drugs, we need to think about cutting off the demand, i.e. think about what is causing these young girls to hate their own, healthy, female bodies to such a degree.

All of us who are adult women know that female puberty is a difficult time, and many of us experienced misogyny and hence dysphoria too at that age. Is there more we can do to provide support, a welcome for young girls to the sisterhood? Very moved by Raquel Rosario Sanchez's tweet on this, addressed to Keira.

How can we help these girls to love who they are, the bodies they're in, to feel supported, and realise that despite the misogyny that they will undoubtedly encounter, being women is great, something to be welcomed, not feared?

Any thoughts welcome.

A Mighty Girl might have some book recommendations that are suitable for your daughter Sometimes. If you search in personal development (you may need to apply a woo woo filter) www.amightygirl.com/love-your-body

I wish it could be covered in schools - the difficulties of puberty; misogyny; feeling ‘different’; dealing with societal expectations related to gender stereotypes.

I went to an all-girl school and there it was made explicitly clear to us that we could do anything, present in any way, and that there were no ‘rules’ we had to follow as girls. I don’t think many girls today even have that. They’re pressured by SM and all the gender ideology which, to me, only reinforces regressive stereotypes.

Even with the support I had in school, I still found the changes of puberty hard. I was also discovering my sexuality so that added to the difficulty.

I really wish we had an organisation of women that could go into schools and basically say “You’re ok as you are” and explain the difficulties so many of us have had, and provide reassurance and empowerment.

@midgebabe

Happy to support however I can

But short on ideas through . I sort of feel that the commercial world likes stereotypes and that there is more pressure than ever for children to conform

Need to get stories out, real life stories, fictional stories , that cover

This will, hopefully, be my contribution. I'm doing my best, undercover for the time being.

@HecatesCats Thanks!

I’ve been thinking about the kids already on blockers, whose cases will be reviewed and the in-depth research that (I hope?) GiDS will ask them to take part in, about their experiences and outcomes.. these will be important findings of use to make new policy to help other kids in future. (I really hope that GIDS are actually going to do this work, I have no idea what their plans are).

Agree young women and girls need support and to feel confident and powerful in who they are.

But past that into adulthood...they are adults. It’s not up to me to tell another adult what to do.

But it is perhaps up to us all to support adults with any mental health issues, to ensure that people have accurate information, and to ensure people understand all the options

@midgebabe

But it is perhaps up to us all to support adults with any mental health issues, to ensure that people have accurate information, and to ensure people understand all the options

Certainly! I don’t think there is nearly enough mental health support for anyone at the moment

It is also important to adult women to have single sex spaces that they can share with other women. Whether that's leisure activities like a women's pool, sports clubs, or support activities like a breastfeeding group etc If spaces that support women's wellbeing and independence are increasingly encroached upon less women will feel confident to use them and less confident in themselves as a result.

Women have traditionally taken up less public space than men, we need to protect the space that we have gained.

@HecatesCats

It is also important to adult women to have single sex spaces that they can share with other women. Whether that's leisure activities like a women's pool, sports clubs, or support activities like a breastfeeding group etc If spaces that support women's wellbeing and independence are increasingly encroached upon less women will feel confident to use them and less confident in themselves as a result.

Women have traditionally taken up less public space than men, we need to protect the space that we have gained.

Actually I think that's a really important point. I didn't have access to any women only spaces until I was at university and we had a feminist society.

Single sex spaces for girls are critical to girls' sense of self which isn't about being objects.

I also think boys need a lot more work on porn. I watched a childline supported knobhead yesterday talking about porn and the piece about consent was right at the end. There was nothing about the fact that there are many more women in porn that men, that there is a high number of girls who have been trafficked and exploited and that actually quite a few of the women you are watching didn't consent.

Plus nothing about the awful effect of porn on normal sexual response.

Interesting thread. My DD is 11 so just heading into all this and I really want to get it right, to help her feels confident and good about herself, and her body, and not be bound by stereotypes of what girls and women are supposed to be. But I'm not sure how best to do it. Also how to keep her safe! She needs to know that some men and boys can be a threat to her so she needs to be careful in certain situations but how to communicate that without scaring her?