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The Girls’ Standing up for girls’ rights Girls Inc. understands the complexity of girls’ lives and is dedicated to advancing the basic human rights of girls- the right to be respected, self-reliant, healthy, safe, and challenged. More than any other organization in the United States, Girls Inc. truly stands for girls’ rights. In fact, our goal is to ensure that our Girls’ Bill of Rights becomes a reality for all girls.
Right # 1 I love being a cheerleader because many people think that some cheerleaders are air heads. That is a typical stereotype that girls have to deal with everyday. It's okay with me because I work hard both for cheer and in school. I have received many awards for cheer but more in school and I am very proud of being a cheerleader but most important a great student in school. Lisa
I’m 9 years-old and I believe I'm as unique as the freckles on my face. I’m living proof of this right. Music is what helps me express myself. I am dancer and a piano player and without the opportunity to express my talents I would not be who I am today. My future goals are to continue to get A’s in school so that I could attend a good college and become a professional ballerina dancer and a pediatrician. I am proud of who I am and very blessed to have my family and God to support me. Right # 3 Women have fought so hard to get to the level that we are at in society today, but unfortunately, a good majority of girls don't know this or won’t believe it. I know that I didn't believe it until I started to try and achieve things and it was then that I realized it’s not as hard as it always seems. Granted, we have our obstacles that others don't, but when we fight through those obstacles and succeed, we prove that we are equal to everybody else and it just feels that much better. Frankly, for girls that don't know that everything from boys to higher education, to conquering the world are at their fingertips, I feel sorry for them because it is there just waiting to be taken. Unfortunately, girls don't take advantage of what others have worked so hard to achieve, but some day this will be on the mind of every girl out there and then, only then, will we finally get all the respect we deserve and have worked so hard for.
One of the key concepts that Girls Inc. stresses is that girls have the right to accept and appreciate their bodies. Being exposed to advertising and the media everyday, a young girl can easily be manipulated to believe that she is not good enough or not pretty enough. In everyday life there are billboards, television shows, magazines, and other advertisements that show an actor or actress looking perfect or acting perfectly pretty and sexy, when in truth it is all air brushed. At my age we are pressured by teenage boys and girls to have a skinny body, clear skin (which if it is not clear, should be caked with make-up), a nice butt, long legs, etc. Instead of accepting the way we look, we turn to beauty products to CHANGE our appearance. Marketing plays off of our insecurities by advertising that we would look more beautiful if we added all their make-up or “got rid” of what we have. Though, I admit, make-up can be used to enhance your beauty, most young women hide under it. We should appreciate what we have and EMBRACE it. Peer pressure plays a major issue in our lives. We want everyone to like us and think we’re cool because we’re pretty. But looks can’t keep you in a relationship. You have to be confident in yourself and respect others for how they are. If you accept yourself, than it won’t matter if a certain guy doesn’t like you or some girl doesn’t want to be your friend. So in the end if you show respect for others AND appreciate yourself, you will be loved by many because kindness and respect are the true beauties a girl should have. We are all beautiful. You just have to have the confidence within yourself to accept and appreciate your body. Alexis Right # 5 Although there have been vast improvements to the female’s station in society, it is still sad to see that in many places, girls are still being abused and taken advantage of. These girls feel that they do not have the power to stand up for themselves and make their lives better. They do not have the self-confidence to improve their situations because they are told by their abusers that they do not deserve any better, even though deep down they know that they do. And the sad truth is, it is often that very lack of confidence that invites others to mistreat these girls. They know that the girls will not say or do anything about how they are being treated because the girls do not feel that they can. They have been frightened into believing whatever they are told because they were not taught to believe in their own strength, their own power to make a difference. Girls with the self-assurance to fight for their rights and stand up for what they believe in are less likely to be the victims of abuse, rape, or any other type of mistreatment. “How?” you might ask. After all, confidence is not like an article of clothing. It is not a piece of jewelry or type of hair color. It is part of a person’s character and cannot be seen. Yet in a way, it can. A girl who is confident enough in herself not to feel the need to impress her peers against her own better judgment will be less likely to put herself in a vulnerable situation to begin with. She will not be as easily swayed into wearing promiscuous clothing or going to questionable places with questionable people. She would not be as likely to take drugs that would impair her judgment simply because she is pressured into it by her peers. There is also an indescribable way that a confident person carries herself that is felt, if not consciously noted by those around her. People know not to mess with her because she will fight for herself and her rights. This is why Girls Inc. supports girls’ rights to security and encourages girls to have the confidence in themselves to stand up for their rights and beliefs. What this bill means to me is that girls today have more choices when they grow-up. It also tells me that girls are just as equal as guys. We can do anything that guys can do if we want to. It would be nice if every girl understood the “Bill of Rights” because they would then understand what they want to be, like a police officer, firefighters or anything else that they please. Now, not only guys are protecting and giving up their lives for the United States but girls are too. Amanda
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Right # 2
Right # 4