Dirty Girls

Recently, Lydia showed me this short video documentary, shot in 1996 about "dirty girls". Dirty girls are defined in this video as girls who don't wash, don't do their make up, basically any girl not conforming to what a woman "should" be like. Basically the stereotypical view on an extreme feminist. The views of the people in the high school it was shot at was, what I can only describe as, prejudice and judgemental. These "dirty girls" dress and look the way they want because they believe they don't need to glorify themselves for anybody and any one who stands for women's rights - which, by the way, if you do classes you as a feminist (you do not need to be a Dirty Girl to be a feminist) - should be completely understanding and supporting of their lifestyle. Sure, it is nice to look nice - I do my make up and dress semi-decent most of the time (I have been said to pull off the "homeless" look) - however if someone else, especially a woman, does not feel the need to do so then how is that any of your business? If it were a boy who were to come into school, or anywhere for that matter, without washing their hair or wearing the most basic of clothes no one would bat an eye lid because it's ok if guys don't want to try. Many girls even find it attractive. But as soon as a woman doesn't pretty themselves up then it's gross. And what's weird is that it's considered rebelling. In many ways it is, however if society didn't have these ridiculous ideologies of how women should be like, and pressurise them so much to be these ideologies then, of course, it wouldn't be.
One guy in it says "it's easy to rebel"...Well considering the amount of abuse these girls are getting for being who they are, I really don't think it is. It's easy to conform to what other people expect since you won't get the judgement that everyone hates receiving.
What I found most shocking about the whole thing is that most of the judgement came from girls themselves. Gurl, these women are standing up for your gender and your right for equality, they do not deserve your snide comments. One girl in the video says and I quote "I find it personally offensive they're fighting for women because I'm a woman, you know, and they're not". Wait... what?! You know what a "real" woman is? There is no such thing. Gender is not two separate boxes any more (even though I truly believe it never was). There is a wide spectrum of gender - and sexuality for that matter - that nowadays should be accepted and celebrated; girls do not have to be feminine and men do not have to be masculine. We are past the point of gender roles and putting people into stereotypical boxes. This is the 21st century and we have bigger problems to worry about than how other people chose to portray themselves.
Feminism has come a long way in the past 100 years but that doesn't mean we should stop now. And when I say "we" I do not just mean women, I mean any one who believes in equality of gender.





If anyone is interested then here is the link to "Dirty Girls". When you watch it, I know a few of you won't agree with their views but just remember, it's their life, their choice and at the end of the day, they're just being themselves.