ASH PRESTO

Ash is a sociologist and policy consultant working on gender and governance issues.

What is girlhood, and what does it mean that it has become so popular? As a sociologist, I would say that girlhood is a social construct, and different groups and communities will have different experiences regarding this construct. A huge factor (in its popularity) was the heavy marketing of movies like Barbie.

Movies like Barbie play (a role in) socializing girls, and in that sense, very important ‘yung movie na ‘to kasi they resist the stereotypical gender roles of women na you have to please your Kens and just be a beautiful partner (to them). But we also have to be mindful that Barbie depicts a world that is very capitalistic and upper middle class.

While Barbie (or trends like) “girl math” and “girl dinner” can be avenues to challenge traditional stereotypes, we should also be conscious of the new stereotypes of girlhood they are proposing. Hindi siya necessarily inclusive and representative of all girls.

When it comes to the alarm that girlhood is increasingly becoming commodified, we need to recognize that in some communities, girls might not even have the disposable income to participate in moments of capitalist effervescence – what about them?

Can we use the current discussions about girlhood as a bridge to introduce the feminist struggle to more people, especially young girls?

The feminist struggle is inherently inclusive, so the answer is always yes. The next question is how. Hindi dahil a movie says it’s feminist, you stop there. The challenge is to dig deeper and ask how you can go beyond your own circle. We need to reach out and listen to people na hindi nakakapag-participate sa ganitong enterprise kasi mas powerful ‘yung boses nila kesa sa pelikula.