The IM conversations in I.I. were very surprising. I consider myself of the younger generations and I used IM quite often in my Junior High and High School days, but I feel as though the generation in Junior High and High School today are much more open about their sexuality than I had expected. After reading the gURL.com article, I agree that “girls need safe spaces…outside of the traditional spaces where girls interact with the larger culture…They need spaces where they can know what they know and try new identities without self-censoring. Without safe spaces, girls will not be fully able to discover who they are and who they would like to become.” I believe that the internet and online communities are safe places for girls to ask questions that they may feel too embarrassed to ask someone they know, especially face to face. This helps them gain new knowledge and get answers without feeling strange or embarrassed and they can then make an informed decision and shape their own identity. Also, it seems from reading the conversations in I.I. that girls are much more open to expressing themselves when the conversation is private or no one knows the true identity of the person. The author of I.I. also expressed how many of the participants admitted that they said things they would not have been comfortable saying in person. Therefore, these safe spaces are a must if a girl is to really feel comfortable expressing her true self.
However, after reading the article I went to the gURL.com website and I am not sure if I agree that it is a safe place. While people were willing to give advice and try to help the other girls, a lot of the comments in the sexuality blog were very provocative and more sexual than helpful. I am not the person who believes girls shouldn’t have sex because it is unfeminine, but I am not sure how I feel about girls in the 7th grade reading about different sex positions or telling the girl to be proud about giving an hour long blow job. So while I commend such a place online for girls to be able to talk freely, I question whether this gURL.com is such a “safe place.”
I certainly agree with you about kids these days being more open with their sexuality. I believe that the mass media is gettin worse and worse. In Instant Identity they do state that girls are more open in private IM and chats. Im more open with people that I dont know as well but def not how these girls are portrayed as. I really dont think anywhere is safe these days on the internet because its so easy to falsley present yourself. When I have kids Im def going to have a careful eye while they use the internet, atleast until a certain age.
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