New survey
suggests mounting pressure to be ‘supergirls'
merican
girls, at ever younger ages, are experiencing pressure to be everything
to everyone. A survey of more than 2000 girls and boys in grades
3-12 conducted by Harris Interactive reported these findings:
Girls and boys face different stereotypes: 84% of
girls and 87% of boys said girls are “supposed to be kind
and caring” while 88% of girls and 94% of boys said boys are
“supposed to be able to protect themselves.”
Girls
feel pressure to be “very thin and dress ‘right’:”
74% of girls also said they feel a lot of pressure to “please
everyone” and 84% said they dislike that this is true.
Support
systems bolster resilience: yet 20% of high school
girls surveyed said they do not know three adults to whom to turn
if they have a problem.
“We have to acknowledge girls’ concerns, contributions
and experiences and help them be ‘super’ in ways that
are comfortable and healthy,” says Joyce M. Roche, President
and CEO of Girls Inc., a national organization that commissioned
the study.
merican
girls, at ever younger ages, are experiencing pressure to be everything
to everyone. A survey of more than 2000 girls and boys in grades
3-12 conducted by Harris Interactive reported these findings:
Girls and boys face different stereotypes: 84% of
girls and 87% of boys said girls are “supposed to be kind
and caring” while 88% of girls and 94% of boys said boys are
“supposed to be able to protect themselves.”
