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author_by_night) wrote2005-07-03 07:00 pm
Saw this on MSN...
(Cross posted to my other LJ).
Ten things teen girls think about.
.............
Have these people watched five episodes of Full House, read two Sweet Valley Twins books, and a few episodes of Dawson's Creek to form their opinions?
Things I thought about when I was a teen, and/or my friends thought about, and/or things my current friends think about:
1. The war in Iraq, and whether we should be there.
2. Finding a place in this world (which, Columnists, is not always as easy as "loving yourself").
3. God, and who He is, if He even exists.
4. College.
5. Fitting in 14 hour work shifts, five school projects, soccer practice, other homework, and time for loved ones.
6. Loved ones being sent/going to Iraq.
7. Harassment.
8. Family problems.
9. Depression. (And a surprising number of teens have been affected, either by having it or knowing someone else with it, myself included).
10. Bad grades. (People who think we who failed classes all failed due to slacking need reality checks NOW).
11. Horrible teachers. (Horrible meaning Snape-like, and I'm not exaggerating, though I doubt she would ever have been a Death Eater type).
12. "The Issues", as I call them. ("Should abortion be illegal?" "Should we be in Iraq?" "When is censorship going too far?")
13. Supersitions.
14. Illness.
15. Bighead Boyfriends.
Yes, there are teens who think mostly about perfume, but that's not all of them. And even they often had bigger stories behind the surface. I had a friend that was many things by stereotype, yet inside, there was a girl who was simply acting out all she'd ever been taught. And she was smart in her own way - she just never got many chances to show it, because her other friends encouraged her to do the things she did. Even I can't say I always stopped her. :(
So, please, people; as someone who is only a year past being a teen, and as someone who has many teen friends that are more intelligent and sweet than some adults I know, this article ticked me off.
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The majority of the people who subscribe to and read those magazines on a regluar basis are the shallow, celebrity stalker types, who would do anything to make that cute boy from english class like them. Not because of any personality attributes, but because he is cute. Those people bug me. But if you walk into a regular high school, you will realize this is only about 10% of the female population. Not everyone who subscribes to teen magazines is like that, but the majority of people who care enough to write in probably are.
If the person writing the article had worked for a differant magazine, she would have gotten differant views on how teens behave, and what they like. Say for example the writer worked for Punk Rock Magazine, she probably would have found more people interested in music and politics. In Girl Scout Magizine, she would have found more people interested in being a good example and giving back to the community.
It is impossible to get a good idea of what girls like from such a limited and biased sample. If the writer wanted a valid article, she should have gone into an average public high school (not a religious school, and not in an upper or extreme lower class area)and observed the differant girls in there, then interviewing several girls of differant groups or "cliques". Ask a prep, a goth, a geek, and an athletic girl, and chances are they will all give you differant answers. A girl who has had an easy life will have differant answers than a girl who has had a hard life, then there is also the matter of no two girls being exactly alike.
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