Summary Of Girls Like Us By Rachel Lloyd

At the beginning of the semester, I was unsure how this class would ensue. Prior to this class, I would have never called myself a feminist. However, throughout the course I have learned more about feminism and why the world still needs feminism. I thoroughly enjoyed discusses the topic violence against women. Rachel Lloyd’s novel, Girls Like Us, highlighted the extreme coercion, abuse, and neglect many men and women and girls and boys experience everyday of their lives of being commercially exploited. This book illustrated the numerous hardships and dangers individuals face inn which I had no preceding knowledge. Furthermore, the debate concerning voluntary, amateur stripping greatly reasserted my views on stripping and prostitution. The article

Girls are constantly pressured into conforming into the media’s standards of beauty. This is reiterated through the article “The ‘Beauty’ Ideal.” This except enabled to gain more knowledge about how the media portrays the ideal standards of beauty. From a young age, women are compelled to conform to the standard size and looks of beautiful models. I learned that beauty is a huge aspect of corporate capitalism and consumerism as a large amount of money goes into fashion, cosmetics, and entertainment industries. The debate concerning voluntarily stripping greatly aided in expounding my understanding of beauty ideals of women where women, such as those on Girls Gone Wild, are tall, blonde, and skinny which only reinforces America’s beauty standard. In addition, our culture automatically associates sex with gender, giving males and females separate gender performances. I learned that through sexual scripts, society sets a guideline in which men and women are supposed to act and feel as humans. Tough Guise addressed this problem in showing the many ways that boys and men act tough to be seen as masculine, powerful, and violent. Women, however, are supposed to follow the script of being emotional, beautiful, and dependent on

I have an enhanced understanding of the horrible consequences that the patriarchy has had on both men and women. One organization that I am thankful I have learned about is Lloyd’s Girls Education & Mentoring Services (GEMS) . Though Girls Like Us and the GEMS video our class watched, I have a new understanding of the organization’s mission and vision. I am extremely thankful to Lloyd and her staff for their hard work in aiding girls and young women in getting out of the life being sexual exploited. Furthermore, the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights presented the universal rights that all men and women should retain. It is unfortunately these rights have not been retained for all people, however it is reassuring to know that these rights are in place, and individuals across the world are attempting to change the world in hopes for all people to achieve equality. As a political enthusiast and aspiring lawyer, I know I will advocate for the rights of women through my daily work. I am confident that the knowledge I gained from this class will aid me in being an activist for women’s equality. I have a passion for feminism and I hope to make a difference in the lives of men and women across the