The rise of the girly girl

There has been a recent spate of articles attacking actress Zooey Deschanel for being ‘too girly’. Julie Klausner added fuel to the fire when she published her tumblr post, claiming that adult women are behaving too much like little girls in order to attract men.

She also goes on to say:

“Because the larger issue is that it is a lot easier for men —or even guys or bros—to demean us, if we’re girls. It’s much harder to bring down a woman, or to call her a moron, when she’s not in pigtails and Ring Pops”.

Interesting.

Zooey Deschanel’s reply highlights my thoughts exactly as I too am struggling to understand what is so wrong with being a girly girl.

In this day and age, when so many women before us fought for equality, I feel like it’s a rather archaic view to believe that being girly somehow makes a woman seem weak or even that men look for opportunities to ‘demean’ women.

Maybe it’s a generational thing. Being on the cusp and Gen Y and Gen X, I see the new generation of men who have respect for women and view them as their equals. On the flip side, I have also seen men of the older generation who have a very different view on what a women’s role is and how she should be treated. Girly or not, it’s going to take more than not wearing a headband or sparkly lip gloss to change their attitudes.

To be a strong woman doesn’t necessarily we have to act more like men. Nor does it mean that we have to become defensive and aggressive when dealing with men. I know women who have felt the need to fight for their position at work, in social circles, in the world in general and they just end up stressed, angry and alone.

I would classify myself as a girly girl. I like to wear pretty skirts and dresses, subscribe to several fashion magazines and hardly ever leave the house without some makeup on. I don’t do it to attract men (I am in a committed long term relationship), I do it for me. The only time I do things like dance around the house to 80s music or try on different outfits that I haven’t worn in a while, is when my boyfriend isn’t home (well, most of the time anyways…). Yet I feel like I am respected by the males in my life and I don’t believe that the pencil skirts and cardigans I wear to the office give men the impression that I don’t take my job seriously.

Being yourself is the best thing anyone can do. When a person is comfortable and confident in themselves and the image they are projecting to the world, that’s when they can achieve anything. Just because a girl is wearing pink and likes to bake cupcakes, doesn’t mean there isn’t a Marlene Dietrich, Marie Curie or Amelia Earhart lurking underneath…