What It Means To Be A Girl Living In 2012

As the election continues to gets closer, I’m starting to realize that my further contributions to society will gradually increase. I’ll enter the work force; start college, vote, and try to find my place in the world in a time of recession and stagnation, when many people are finding themselves unable to climb the social ladder.

But what does it really mean to be a girl in 2012? It means that paying attention to all the things those politicians have been yelling at on the Senate floor. All of those things on C-SPAN are worth listening to—as they pertain to legislation that will affect me, and affect women all around the nation.

Being a girl in 2012 is about having the responsibility of a uterus and tending to it while it is under capitalistic domain and political debate. We get the media telling us that parts of our bodies are ugly and that we should go through bleaching and reconstructions–to appease whom? Me? Male and female politicians of the radical right label us as “sluts” and “baby-killers” because we asked for birth control, because we were raped, because right now isn’t the right time to have a baby. We’re left with crossed fingers just hoping that abortion law won’t pass, or hoping that the co-pay won’t get any higher while our rights to our own bodies are determined by the higher-ups of government. It means that the moment I put the ballot in with my choices, it’ll be one of the biggest contributions I can make to the political world—even though we run solely on a winner-take-all system, and I’m a Democrat voting in blue state, so my vote doesn’t really carry all that much weight.

Being a girl in 2012 means being aware of what’s going on in the world of feminism. It means being staying in the loop, while reading blogs and forums still stuck in the second wave. It means thinking critically about feminists all around the blogosphere praise Laci Green while having her use words like “tranny”, while screaming in the name of ignorance and not knowing better, or fat-shaming, or all the other mistakes she has made—and still having supposed feminists stand behind her. It means being labeled a “man-hating feminist” by men who haven’t even heard why I need feminism. All they understand is the social stigma that plagues the title “feminist.” It means I have to endure hearing my father tell me that I don’t need to be “smart” all of the time, and that I should “really put more makeup” on my face. It means being stuck in the world of patriarchy and lack of gender equality while women are being made fun of even in the Olympics. It means not being taken seriously.

Being a girl in 2012 means understanding that our fight for equality is not over yet. It means we still need feminism, but a feminism that understands that intersectionality needs to happen. It means that we have to consider all aspects of identities, such as class, race, ability, sexual orientation, and gender expression, because they all contribute to this social inequity continuum. The plight of women of color, trans* folk, and non-gender binary peoples are still being hurt in this society because of a lack of knowledge (or listening) in the feminist community. The focus on famous white feminists willfully excludes the voices of people of color and their experiences in being erased from the second-wave movement in the 60s. It means moving forward in creating an equal playing field for all women, despite gender/identity expression, color, or class.

Being a girl in 2012 understands the importance of feminism, and why I need it for me to continue growing.

Why do you need feminism? How do you think feminism needs to change in order to move forward? What do you think it means to be a girl in 2012? Share with us in the comments.

Written by Karina Banuelos

Opinions stated in our editorials do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Feminspire and its staff as a whole, but instead reflect the opinions of the writer.

Tamora Pierce

I was made very unwelcome in my particular cell of second wave feminism in the 1970′s because I had a sense of humor and I was sleeping with the enemy (a guy). I have found my heart-home with the women of the third wave, who are so much more aware of the world outside white middle-class feminism. It’s that wave that opened my eyes to rape culture, just as women of color made me stop and think about privilege and being an ally (something I still have to work at).

Being a feminist has to include these things, because for me being a feminist has always been about choice: choice for everyone, not just white cis-women. Being a feminist means calling people on their nastiness, whether they are abusing another woman for her sex life, hair, weight, or birth choices, or whether they are trashing others for their beliefs.

Being a feminist for me is everything *equal*–not one side better than the other, no matter what the woman-trashers claim. That also means equal pay, equal opportunity, and equal treatment for everyone of every sex.
- http://www.floralinguist.com/ Kaya
  
  You are wonderful.
- http://www.facebook.com/alisse.desrosiers Alisse Marie
  
  “Being a feminist means calling people on their nastiness, whether they are abusing another woman for her sex life, hair, weight, or birth choices, or whether they are trashing others for their beliefs.”
  
  This is precisely why you are one of my most favorite people in the world.
- Voice Of Reason
  
  Equal? Then please address the issue I listed above that effect men. This is certainly not equal.
  
  If feminists are so hung up on “equality”, then why are these issues not addressed?
  - Swiftly
    
    You’re the “voice of reason,” right? Then be your own voice.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=40405243 Kelsey Fahy
    
    They are addressed.
    
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-day/why-boys-are-failing-in-a_b_884262.html
Girls Can’t Vote

How old is the author, Karina Banuelos? 17? 16? Younger? If so, great. And congrats to her. But if she’s 18 or over, and reaching out to an 18+ audience with this piece, then I’m a bit disturbed.

For me, part of being a feminist means having a critical awareness of the word “girl” and trying not to use it in places where, for men, we wouldn’t say “boys.”

I can’t imagine a website for men’s issues titled “What it means to be a boy living in 2012.” Why infantilize women in this way? This piece isn’t about girls, it’s about women.

I completely support this website and Banuelo’s decision to write baout why feminism is relevant in 2012 — it is, and I thank you for that.

But when a female’s over 18, she’s a “woman” not a “girl.”

Thanks!
- http://www.floralinguist.com/ Kaya
  
  This is a really good point and definitely worthy of discussing. I know I, for one, identify as a feminist twelve thousand percent and try to evaluate and analyse all my behaviours – and yet I still find myself saying “girls” rather than women. Although I think for me, it might be because I (at 19) feel too young to refer to myself as a woman (young woman or girl are what I identify most with) and perhaps I just project that onto the larger population. I can’t speculate as to Karina’s reasoning, though!
  - Girls Can’t Vote
    
    Isn’t it interesting how hard it is for us to refer to women as women? (Yes, I now understand that Karina’s 17, so she shouldn’t be expected to write about women, but even still she’s a young woman.) I’m 28, and among my peers in our 20s and 30s, the females are SO often called “girls” while we never call males in their 20s and 30s “boys”. Just something to look out for. And perhaps try to curb. I agree, Kaya, it’s definitely worth discussing.
    - Karina Banuelos
      
      I wrote this piece as in the perspective of a cis woman when I am a non-binary individual. I grew up believing I was cis until I realized that I hated being called a girl, young woman, woman. So please stop referring to me as a young woman. This is what I know. I wrote this to discuss what I’ve seen around me in the the world of cis women, girls, and young woman. I’m still trying to find myself as a non-binary individual that rejects the cisgender idea of being female.
- http://www.robotsandlace.com/ Jess Mary
  
  I believe she is rather young, (she has not yet started college). While I completely agree with you, I think that someone around that age is a girl. I believe she was talking to girls her own age–not women.
  
  I agree 100% with you point, but I also think it’s important to not ‘age up’ actual girls.
- Hayley Trimmier
  
  I am 20 and still have a difficult time identifying as a “woman” because society still very treats me like a child. For someone 3 years younger than i am, it’s very easy for me to see how that would have been an uncomfortable word to own. You’ve written a great piece, Karina! And your acknowledge of the transition is very real. I feel today like I’m invetween true adulthood and girlhood. Overall. The identification conversation is very much worth having…
- Kate Rayes
  
  Sign your damn name to your posts or don’t post at all. Posting “Girls Can’t Vote” is way more infantile than your supposedly intelligent comment.
  - Girls Can’t Vote
    
    No need for bullying, Kate. – Kate
    - Kate Rayes
      
      If I believed I was bullying, I wouldn’t have posted. I’m sorry if I came across that way. I am, however, entitled to my own opinions and my opinion remains that leaving a post unsigned means you either don’t fully back it or you’re afraid to associate yourself with it. In my opinion, both of those lack bravery.
Karina Banuelos

Just some background, I am currently 17 and starting college in the fall, and this piece is just talking about making the transition from a “girl” into a “young woman.”
- Girls Can’t Vote
  
  Hey Karina, thanks for the clarification. And thanks for writing this. You’re right, we do need more girls (and boys and gender-queer folks) to embrace feminism. Bravo! – Kate Adach (“Girls Can’t Vote”)
Voice Of Reason

Here we go again…the me me me victim mentality of over-priviliged feminists.

Made fun of in the Olympics? What about men being made fun of in sitcoms and commercials? Do you conveniently ignore this evidence?

An “equal playing field”? You already have an equal playing field, and more. Women outnumber men in college. Men die earlier than women. Men commit suicide more than women. Men are more likely to be subject to violence than women. Men are raped by the family courts…I could go on. Are you not aware of these issues? Or do you pretend they don’t exist, because they are in conflict with your dogma?