Sexism? Not really

So apparently teenage girls aren’t interested in makeup, selfie sticks or sunglasses.

Er, I might be getting on in years, but if I dust off my memories of those halcyon days of my youth, I was quite interested in at least two of those things (I’m old as fuck, so selfie sticks weren’t a thing back then. Neither were selfies. Nor smart phones. Nor the internet).

But I digress. My interest in punk, motorsport and rugby may have meant I wasn’t perhaps the   stereotypical teenage girl but I did still have a passing interest in what could be deemed “girly” things. However, a school in Auckland that has asked for donations of goodies to raffle off as a fund-raiser has earned the wrath of a mother who appears to have had a hissy fit over the prospect of teenage girls being exposed to these things. 

Mum enraged by school’s raffle request for ‘teenage girl’ prizes

The school sent out a notice requesting raffle basket donations for the upcoming school fair, and for the “teenage girl” prize requested requested items included accessories (sunglasses, purse), cosmetics (makeup, nail polish) and phone accessories (case, selfie stick).

The grumpy mother took to Instagram to have a whinge about that being anti-feminist:

“This is apparently what teenage girls should be interested in: looking f…ing good and taking selfies,” she wrote.

She then said would be donating a book for the raffle: “Possibly from Hilary Clinton or Maya Angelou or both!!!” and used the hashtags “#smartgirls #feminism”.

Surely feminism is about girls and women being able to do whatever the fuck they want. If a girl wants to grow her hair long, wear lipstick and perfume and pick flowers, that’s feminism. If a girl wants to shave her head, or take up pigeon racing, if a girl wants to do ANYTHING and is able to do it, then that’s feminism.

And FYI lady: Most teenage girls do actually like the girly stuff, they do care about how they look. And so do teenage boys. So what? 

PS: And I’m a 50-something woman who is a feminist and doesn’t care much about makeup and selfie sticks. But I wasn’t a big fan of Hillary Clinton’s books. But I do know her name has two Ls, not one.

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top