Premium Essay

American Girls

In:

Submitted By claudiarodriguez
Words 324
Pages 2
5 Girls video summary
Child Development 10H

The video is about five American girls: Corrie, Toby, Amber, Aisha, and Haibinh and how they confront the challenges of growing up female in America. While revealing differences in race and class they take us through each of their stories. I also noticed that these girls have in common self-awareness and determination to be themselves.
From first loves to parental expectations to the gap between poverty and wealth, the teenagers of 5 Girls facing dilemmas shaped by society's ideas about young women as they experience daily changes in their lives. Corrie is intellectual and openly bisexual, from Chicago's upper middle-class who struggles to connect with her very religious father since revealing her sexuality to him. Amber is an honor roll on Chicago's Southside, a world apart from Corrie's world. Not only must she deal with societies' misconceptions of her, based on her race and class, but also the challenges that comes when she is forced to live on her own. Aisha is a high-achieving black teenager in a Catholic girls' school, a basketball star that fights to stand her ground in the face of a loving but over protective and demanding father. Haibinh came to the U.S. from Vietnam when she was ten. A high school sophomore who excels in school and is a community leader, she struggles with the conflicting demands of holding on to her Vietnamese heritage while fitting in to American culture. Toby is the active 12-year-old daughter of doctors who manages to go her own way regardless of the well educated parents.
Each of the 5 girls confront the losses and gains that come from making adult decisions, and each finds herself impatient to discover there adult identity. The 5 girl’s video shows how a teenager wants to prove to their families that they are smart and more determined to grow up on their own

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

All American Girls Baseball League

...All American girls baseball League The United States entered World War 2 in 1941 it ended in 1945, because of this men were drafted into the military and forced to participate in the war. This took a high population of the men away from professional baseball. Major league baseball, being a part of America’s past time, was struggling with the decline of men in the league. In 1942 minor league teams were being disbanded due to the war and men 18 years and older were being drafted into the military services. Philip K. Wrigley, famous for Wrigley chewing gum and inheriting the Chicago Cubs major league baseball team from his father, didn’t want baseball to come to a collapse and sought after solutions to this dilemma (Lesko, 2013). Wrigley asked his committee to help come up with ideas. The committee recommended a girls softball league that would be established in the major league parks to help the decline in attendance due to losing quality players to attract crowds. Mr. Wrigley and the All American softball league emerged in the spring of 1943. The league was a non-profit organization and a board was formed which included Philip Wrigley, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers President and General Manager; Paul Harper, Chicago attorney and trustee for the University of Chicago and Cubs attorney; and Ken Sells, who was named President of the League. This allowed a base structure for the league (Lesko, 2013). Jim Hamilton was a player, manager, owner and Chicago Cubs Scout was...

Words: 575 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Reflection Paper

...IBUS 402:002 Discovering the needs of your target segment is essential when developing a new product. Surveys and questionnaires would be the easiest way to go about discovering the needs of American parents and kids who might like this doll. E-mailing these forms would be easiest; although, in person you can choose your candidates better. Another possibility would be to research the most popular dolls sold to American parents and compare the similarities and differences from those dolls to this particular doll. Market testing would probably be the most efficient and conclusive way to discover your segment’s needs. Market testing is important because as Hornor states “everyone thinks their idea or product is perfect, so you need to test it with real potential customers so they can either tell you it is wonderful or open your eyes to potential issues with your product.” The biggest issue Americans have reported about their feelings towards toys manufactured in China, and sold in the U.S., is that they are unsafe and dangerous for their kids. These issues have come up because many toy manufacturing companies have had serious public issues. Mattel, the largest toy manufacturer, had to recall over 19 million toys. About half of those toys were distributed in the United States, and all were manufactured in China. (Story and Barboza) These toys were recalled because of problems such as small amounts of lead, which can be extremely harmful to kids. “According to the US Consumer...

Words: 1142 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Body Image In Emily Prager's Our Barbie, Ourselves

...Thousands of girls look in the mirror, feeling self-conscious about their weight. They starve themselves, constantly workout, or purge just so they can have the “perfect body.” In their eyes, a thin waist, skinny thighs, and a flat chest is the only way for them to look beautiful. But what causes this hatred of their own body? In the articles, “Our Barbie, Ourselves” by Emily Prager and “Celebrity Bodies” by Daniel Harris, both authors agree that media is the source of unrealistic body image views, but they differ on who is at fault: those viewing the media or those in the media. Both articles agree that the spread of pictures and advertisements through media is the source for body image problems in females. For instance, Barbie, commonly advertised in commercials and...

Words: 529 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Its a Girl

...It's A Girl This documentary caught my attention from the very beginning, when I heard of a woman in India killing eight of her baby girls just because she did not want a daughter, but a son. She would keep getting pregnant in hopes of having a boy. I was in disbelief to see the facial reaction she had as she told her story, without guilt or regret, just no emotion at all. She believes women have the power to give life and the power to take it away. I disagree with that statement because each and every person has a right to live life and existence no matter what gender they are. Sadly, many baby girls are either aborted before birth, killed right after birth, or abandoned. If they live past puberty they become victims of neglect and abuse. I believe this is so unjust, especially me being a mother to a healthy beautiful little girl. I could never neglect or abuse her just because she is a girl, nor would I ever allow anyone else to. But in India, it's very different, the men are in control of the woman, considered property, and forced to have a male child. If a woman did not produce boys or dowry then they would be considered useless and either abused or killed. I understand that men from India have power over their women in this way, but without women or girls how will more boys be produced? In India they believe boys bring strength, blessing, and wealth, while girls bring dowry and burden. They believe families with sons gain wealth and daughters, while families with daughters...

Words: 804 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Naturally Perfect Norton Doll Analysis

...Another prime example of a solution can be seen through the company Naturally Perfect, a company that creates colored dolls, in a market, which lacks dolls for African-American and Black girls. Founders of Naturally Perfect, Angelica and Jason, created their company after their daughter was discontent and deeply influenced by how there were no dolls that resembled her, “Like most young girls with kinky/curly hair, my daughter Sophia was not happy with her kinks and curls because of the doll I was putting in her hands every day. Sophia wanted long straight hair, and even started expressing a strong dislike for her facial features and skin tone…. We created “The Angelica Doll” – A natural hair 18-inch doll for young girls” (“About Us”). The lack...

Words: 406 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Compare and Contrast

...to Be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t) by Patricia Smith. Morales is a woman if mixed race; Puerto Rican and Jewish, while Smith is African-American. We all want to think that someone’s race or color of their skin wouldn’t determine how they are treated or how they are perceived, but this is not the case. When talking amongst friends about someone they do not know we often describe them by using their skin color. And when meeting someone new one of the first questions we ask is “what race are you?” or the harsher “what are you?” Both of these poems give the reader a look into the mind of two young women of different races, one being mixed and the other being an African American, and how each girl views herself. The poem, “Child of The Americas” by Aurora Levins Morales, the reader looks into the consciousness of a young multi-racial woman. Morales herself is a multiracial woman “Puerto Rican-born and Jewish American Aurora Levins Morales is a poet, essayist, historian, and activist” (Fiandt, 2006). Morales’ poem talks about finding ones identity. Morales starts her poem off by stating that she is an American “she does not claim any single identity beyond “American” and this “American” includes the multiple races and nationalities that have entered the Western hemisphere” (Bost, 2000). The next lines go into more detail of where her ancestors came from. She is a mestiza or “a person of mixed blood; specifically: a person of mixed European and American Indian ancestry”...

Words: 1986 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Literature and Freedom

...Student’s name Professor’s name Course Date Literature and Freedom The literature on freedom is one that provides empathy on the narration about the characters that are portrayed by the writers. Freedom is a perception of the minds as well as a belief of the particular status whether on an individual level or not. Freedom presents an image of the beliefs of the society in defining what is wrong and right. Different communities have rules to which those who believe in them follow and this is diverse depending on culture. Literature is mutually related to freedom as the writer chooses the direction the story will head and the reader has the option of acceptance or denial about the theme in the story. The analysis is presented of two artists who have dwelled on the subject of freedom in their narration providing a clear understanding of the association between liberty and literature. The woman’s swimming pool is a story by Hanna Al-Shaykh, who portrays the conventional fights women face in Islamic-Arab countries. In the story, she plainly depicts the depleting pressure the young storyteller faces as she satisfies the objectives of going to the sea. The presentation of the narration is from a young woman side where accompanied by her grandmother embark on the journey to Beirut to make her fantasy on visiting the sea one day come true. The story denotes the contention of strict religious points of view and customary views, and the restrictions that a young woman faces when in...

Words: 2171 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Body Image Of Women In The 1920's

...A quote from Amy Heckerling, an American film director, states “Body image - what we’re supposed to look like - is made so unattainable that all girls are put in this position of feeling inferior.” From the beginning of time, society has created a quintessential image for the way they desired women to look. The media influences women of the current idealistic body image they should maintain. The ideal body type varies as time goes on and is defined by the historic events that are occurring during that specific time period; we see these body statuses to become more elaborate and noticeable in the 1800s to the 1900s and they change every couple of decades post the 1900s. Women’s body expectations, for the most part, originate from a well-known...

Words: 737 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Consumer Web Site Review

...Review My daughter is turning twelve years old this year and she wants to celebrate it at a restaurant called American Girl located at the Grove mall. I’ve heard before about this specific store because my wife always buys her Christmas present from this place but didn’t know they had a restaurant. So, I went online to plan my budget for her birthday. The website I visited was www.americangirl.com. When you go to the website, it’s all pink with a mixture of purple and something that really called my attention is that as a title is has “American girl, follow your inner star” and I think that this gives a very nice messages to little girls who are growing up to be a well rounded ladies. In the front pages it is decorated for Spring advertisement and it is very interactive. I can tell that girls from different ethnic groups are being represented and this makes me think that the little girls who visit this pages to play feel somehow identified or connected to the dolls. The website offers three categories for the visitors: Shop, Play and Stores. Under the shop section, you find all the dolls the company has created and there are a lot of dolls that girls can choose from. I think that all ethnic groups are represented and something very unique about this company is that they have dolls with disabilities as well. Aside from the dolls, the have clothing and dolls are girls outfits and every accessory necessary for this dolls; they even have a hospital for the dolls who needs to be...

Words: 723 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Daisy Miller

...Rahnuma Shabiba 2013-1-40-044 Eng 420 (1) - MAZ Response to the Character of Daisy Miller Daisy Miller is a novella written by Henry James where the story focuses on a young girl Daisy, who is full of life and innocent at the same time. This one particular aspect of the novella that focuses on this young girl has left the novella to analyze from a feminist point of view. Therefore we can say that Daisy Miller focuses on the nature of women, and Henry James portrayed the character of Daisy in order to do that. Daisy is introduced to Europe, and she deals and copes up with the society as well as she lives on her freewill. Unfortunately the consequence of her freewill does not prove to be a very good one. Perhaps this is how Henry wanted to depict the societal position of women. The response for this character Daisy can have a lot of dimensions. Many could easily call Daisy a flirt, many could be confused just like Winterbourne, and many could also support her freewill. Here we should also keep in our mind that although the narrator of the story is unreliable, unnamed and omniscient, yet every detail about Daisy as well as every other character is told from the point of view of Winterbourne. Many readers may get influenced by the comments that Winterbourne and Mrs. Costello makes regarding Daisy and her family. Here we should understand that Winterbourne himself is a confused person, and till the end of the story he is not able to understand what Daisy actually is. On the other...

Words: 703 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Individualism In John Updike's A & P

...Written in the early 1960’s, a time period of rebellion and social revolution, A&P demonstrates teen Americans need to stride away from the 1960’s version of the ‘american dream’. John Updike’s use of symbolism, to illustrate Sammy's rebellion, leads readers into realizing the importance of sceding away from societal conformity and pressure. According to Sammy, the customers symbolize the “sheep” of society as they blindly go down the aisles as if they are a worthless herd of tongue-tied people. Sammy’s attitude toward the herd shows that he depicts people who uncritically follow societal norms, indirectly emphasizing the importance of individualism. The connotation of ‘Sheep’ leaves a positive impression in the reader's mind at first considering how the people acted normal for the time period. However; soon readers realize that being a mindless follower is deplorable as today's generation teaches individuals to become an inventive leader rather than a mere follower. Updike uses the girls to represent as a threat to values, customs and social guidelines upon the ‘herd of sheep’. Their actions clearly display deliberate provocation as they show up in bathing suits at a local grocery store, 20...

Words: 420 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Eating Disorders: Stephanie Hanes Little Girls Or Little Women

...October 2014 “Little Girls or Little Women?” Young girls are becoming increasingly involved in this worlds highly sexual environment. More and more are being captured at young ages by marketing and advertising, glamorizing fashion and new fads. Once discovering her three year old daughter, Coaimhe, becoming more concerned about beautifying herself and living like a young female adult, Author of “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect”, Stephanie Hanes, Publicises how girls at young ages are becoming too involved in today’s highly sexualized environment and by investing in makeup, clothing, accessories and new hair do’s to make them look “sexy”, when in reality it’s far too inappropriate for their age group. Girls are being blinded by society’s standards for how the female body should look. They want that “sexy babe” look just like all the beautiful models they see in media and on advertisements. But many are falling into eating disorders and becoming very sick trying to do so. They become so caught up in becoming skinny that they’ll start to harm their bodies to reach their impossible goal. In an article titled...

Words: 2767 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Boys Against Girls

...Boys Against Girls Summary: Discusses the academic and social rivalry between boys and girls. Findings of a study conducted by the American Association of University Women regarding the issue; Gap between men and women in the sciences; Strengths and weaknesses of boys and girls. GENDER A 1992 study by the American Association of University Women reported that schools shortchange girls--letting them lag behind boys in science, silencing them in class and damaging their self-esteem. But some experts are arguing that it's boys who lose out. "The Columbine killings have been a wake-up call," says Judith Kleinfeld, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. "Boys also have their problems." Kleinfeld refutes the findings of the AAUW study: With the exception of the (rapidly narrowing) gap between men and women in the sciences, she says, "most of the other findings are misleading or false." Studies show, for example, that girls receive better grades and more awards than their male counterparts. They also have superior verbal skills and are more likely to attend college. But while many schools sponsor interventions to coach girls in physics and math, few have tried to remedy boys' poor reading and writing abilities. And contrary to popular belief, many boys have a well-hidden low self-esteem, believing that schools are hostile towards them. "Women have been shortchanged in other areas of life," says Kleinfeld. "But schools, with their...

Words: 307 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Analysis of Eye Socket Girls

...Analysis of Eye Socket Girls by Paula Bomer In the course of history, the ideal of a woman has changed a lot. In newer, postmodern times, the female body ideal has changed radically. With the technology advancing significantly in this period, it creates an even easier way of setting more focus on how the ideal woman should look. The medias, commercials and famous fashion houses are now defining what the perfect woman is supposed to look like. This often results in teenage girls starving themselves to loose weight, and tries to strive for this unachievable woman ideal. The story “Eye Socket Girls” by Paula Bomer takes this up to a postmodern perspective, where we follow an anorectic girl at a hospital. The time is hard to pinpoint exactly, but there’s some hints throughout the story. A TV, and the American actress Winona Ryder are mentioned when the narrator describes how obesity takes over “weak” High-School girls. This description indicates that the story takes place in the late 90’s or early 00’s. The female ideal at this time was to be as thin and bony as possible as described in the story “We look voraciously at one another. We envy the protruding bones of someone who is that much closer to not being here at all” (p. 112, l. 11-12) when she tells about the anorectic ward where she is hospitalized. The story takes place in an American hospital ward, where the only patients are anorectics. The story signifies that it is taking place in America, since the narrator is...

Words: 1424 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Eating Disorders Among Teenage Girls

...In today’s world, one simply cannot escape the judgment of others. At the most judgmental time of their lives, teenage girls in the United States struggle to accept themselves while craving the approval of others. As young women strive to reach perfection, the view on women today may influence their dedication for a perfect body. While society shames bigger women for their weight, degrading thoughts begin to take-over the minds of developing teens. Studies show that negative psychological thoughts of oneself often result in eating disorders among teenage girls in the United States; these degrading thoughts can come from clothing companies, the media, and society’s view on women. First, clothing companies can have a big impact on the view that...

Words: 1159 - Pages: 5