 Learning to Overcome the "Supergirl Dilemma"—By Kristin Butler Published: December, 2006  Oakland high school students Ronisha Parker, Sheila Bolton, Naomi Muzac and (front) Desshanea Richardson participate in the Girls Advocacy Project. They've interviewed their peers and are now designing community projects. Remember that perfume commercial from the 1970s, the one with the woman who sang about bringing home the bacon, frying it up in a pan, and never letting you forget you're a man? According to a recent study conducted by the girl-empowerment organization Girls Inc., that expectation to "do it all" — known as the "Superwoman Syndrome" — has trickled down to today's girls and is negatively impacting their emotional and physical health. "I'm doing so many things I am making myself physically sick," said Naomi, a 16-year-old from San Leandro. "I'm losing weight, I'm not eating, and for two years the doctors have been telling me that I have high blood pressure." Naomi said she is struggling to balance her studies at a college prep high school with basketball, church, after school activities, and the pressure of fitting in with her peers. And it's taking a toll. According to the recent Girls Inc. study titled "The Supergirl Dilemma," Naomi isn't alone. "The study confirmed what practitioners in the field know — girls today are under an incredible amount of stress," said Karen Kenney, executive director at Girls Inc. in Alameda. "It is our goal to give girls a safe place where they can think critically about the pressures they are under and make healthy decisions about their own lives." The Supergirl study, co-conducted by Harris Interactive as a follow-up to a similar study done in 2000, surveyed thousands of girls and boys in grades 3 through 12, as well as adults, throughout the U.S. to discover how gender stereotypes — from the media, parents, peers, and other influences — are affecting today's girls. Some of the findings, which were released in October, were encouraging, Kenney said. Fewer girls now believe that females can't be good leaders, that they can't brag about their accomplishments, and that it is solely the woman's job to do housework and raise children. But the study also found that girls feel they must be kind and caring to everyone, do well in school, dress to impress their peers, participate in extra-curricular activities, have perfect bodies, have sex at a younger age, guard against pregnancy, and earn money to pay for college. | ||
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