I'm just a girl...but what IS a girl?

As someone who tends to lean towards the social construction of culture, Duke and Wald's article gave me some good insight on the effects that the media can have in shaping concepts of gender. I was particularly interested by the findings in Duke's study - that African American girls generally reject teen magazines due to their lack of "real" girls. The main reason they can overlook the information provided by the media is because their differences separate them from the majority. Even more, African American teenage girls actually have higher levels of self-esteem and more often view themselves as being attractive than White teenage girls.

What really stood out to me and I actually envied was the idea that the African American teenage girls were able to form their identity and "celebrate their 'Blackness'" based on their differences. In other words, instead of trying to conform to what magazines prescribe to teenage girls and letting their differences be a burden of sorts, African American girls embraced their differences and in a way used it against the media. Like I said, I envy that. Sometimes I wish I had something "different" about me that I could celebrate and bond with others over. But instead I'm just another blonde haired, blue eyed, White female who is (what others may view as) a product of the media. I know that that sounds kind of crazy. It's not that I'm not secure in my own identity because I am, it's just that I know I'm being directly targeted by the media, and sometimes I feel like there's nothing I can do to change that.

I was glad to learn that family and community played a large role in shaping the identites of African American girls. And not just because it affirmed my belief that social construction is stronger than media :) I could personally relate to that. I grew up in a very tight-knit family (extremely close to my mother, who is a great female role-model) and a close community in my church. I really do believe that that has shaped my identity more than the media has. I think that these days society is really lacking in having a sense of community, and family for that matter. It seems as though families aren't as stable anymore, and individuality is much more greatly valued than being part of a group. Television, the Internet, and video games have taken away from social interaction. Okay, I'm going off on a tangent now. But my point is that the social construction of culture, more specifically gender, is stronger than many people think. Although media is pretty sneaky in finding ways into our lives, I think that we greatly have control over how much and what types of media replace or social lives.

You know, now that I think about, the "Riot Grrrl" phenomenon that Wald discussed is actually kind of a weird combination of media influence and a social community. Hm. Like, the Riot Grrrl is an image portrayed by female music artists that can certainly influence other females' concept of gender, but at the same time it forms a social bond that is fighting back against the media. Weird. I think I just confused myself way too much. But that thought is causing me to wonder what other media entities result in the same social community...

Okay, back to Duke. I think that the combination of rejecting media and embracing family and community has helped these African American girls arrive at a much more healthy identity and idea of what it is to be beautiful. "In their eyes, personality, attitude, character, and style were the primary elements of real beauty" (p. 289). Later on Duke pointed out that "white girls knew to say reality is better, but their eyes led them back to the ideal - a reality only for the limited few who work hard enough for the look." So what is the difference between the African American girls and the White girls? Well, I guess it's the fact that teen magazines are targeting White girls instead of Black girls. But for me, that's just not good enough. If African American teenage girls can acknowledge that the models and content of these magazines are not "real" - and not just regarding ethnic diversity (but also stories about romance, fashion, etc.) - why can't White girls? I guess that's where the evidence of media construction of gender comes into play, and the ever-important education/awareness of media effects....