Junior Theme #4: Intro

This is my current Introduction.

“In many ways, today is the best time in history to be a girl,” concludes Dr. Stephen Hinshaw in his 2009 book, The Triple Bind. From a historical perspective, it is hard to imagine a time of greater freedom and opportunity for American girls than at the close of the twentieth century. By 2005, 57% of the bachelor’s degrees were earned by women. (TTB 14) High school girls could qualify for athletic scholarships and aspire to play professional sports. (14) Record numbers of women worked in professional jobs in science, medicine, law, business, journalism, communications, entertainment, academia and politics. (15) Young girls saw women featured in the media as writers, editors, news anchors and political commentators not just as actresses and models. In two income households, 25% of wives now earned more than their husbands. (TTB pgs. 14-15) At a time in history when teenage girls should be excited about their many new opportunities, too many 21st century adolescents find themselves in a crisis of confidence and overwhelmed by the emotional fall-out from the new economic and social changes of the last century: widespread consumerism, loss of community and the growing influence of the media. Dr. Hinshaw makes a convincing argument that our girls’ mental and physical health is in real jeopardy. (TTB) He reports that now “at least one-fourth of all U. S. teenage girls are suffering from self-mutilation, eating disorders, significant depression, or serious consideration of suicide-or are perpetrating acts of physical violence”, and that many of the rest are struggling undiagnosed with “hatred of their bodies, obsessive dieting, sexual confusion, and the persistent sense that they are not good enough”.(TTB pg. 5) The pressures coming from our popular culture make living in a girl’s body today much more complicated and stressful than it was a century ago even though her body has not changed. Ms. Robyn Wiegman, a professor of Women’s Studies at Duke University believes that we must “historicize” and study “capitalism and consumerism” in order to understand why modern girls are so obsessed with being unnaturally thin. Our consumer culture is fueled by harmful advertising messages that exploit our girl’s social anxieties, need for approval and independence. This leads girls to treat their bodies as objects, their relationships as trivial and consumer products as their only real source of happiness. It is no wonder that today’s teens are at a greater risk for a negative self-image, unfulfilling relationships and low self-esteem which make it harder to grow into a happy, healthy and successful adult.

Please let me know what I did well and what I should work on!