WOMEN
Stop Indiscriminately Hating Things Teenage Girls Like
It’s not just snobby — it’s sexist too.
Teenage girls are assessed, evaluated, and judged by their bodies; they are perpetually for sale. But their internal economy is one that older people find incomprehensible, and therefore irritating or even amoral. We sigh when they talk loudly and take selfies and squeal while tasting all the flavors of ice cream. We say “She’s trouble” and “I’d rather treat anyone than teenage girls.” We subject them to our own evaluation of their worth — as people, as women, as sexual objects — because we don’t want to understand theirs. — Jessica Pishko for The Establishment
Our society has conditioned us to be biased against teenage girls and, by extension, the pop culture that they consume. More vitriol is directed toward art created with a female teenage audience in mind than with any other demographic group. Art for teenage girls is not valued either. People consider it too superficial or commercial. I would argue that the number of “haters” outnumber the fans of popular, female-associated properties like Twilight and One Direction, whether you think those pieces of culture should be critiqued. And in our current climate, people can further their cultural cachet by haranguing pieces of art that are considered too commercial or popular.
