I went to this discussion on Thursday. There was a decent turnout; probably about 30 people. There were only about 5 guys and it was surprising that there were any there at all. The crowd seemed to be mostly Womens' Studies majors. There were 2 "moderators" of the discussion who spoke every now and then, but the discussion went in many directions. Many people wanted to say that the "typical JMU girl" had a certain look; Ugg boots, blonde straight hair, and tan skin at all times of the year. Other people were hesitant to attribute the typical JMU girl to just someone who dressed a certain way; many said that we tend to group people who dress a certain way into a category, and that once you actually talk to someone you find out they are quite different. It was then established that the typical JMU girl was someone who carried herself a certain way; someone who is very competitive with other girls in looks and for boyfriends. Competition was a major theme in the discussion. It was then suggested that perhaps the typical JMU girl was just the typical college girl; this statement was refuted a little bit. I participated in the discussion at one point, simply to offer my view on the competition for guys at JMU. Overall, I think the outcome of the discussion was positive. Many of us decided that the only way the stereotype will change is through small actions of kindness, openness, friendliness, and support throughout campus. My only criticism of the discussion was that there was a lot of "us" and "them" talk; no one wants to say that they are the typical jmu girl or even entertain the idea.
I went to this discussion thinking it was going to be in a big room with someone in charge of starting the discussions. Instead it was a group of about 30 or so like Sarah said and we all sat around the room in a circle with two people who sort of led conversation topics if it died down. Most of the girls there were women's studies majors and the few guys that were there, well I don't know there majors or why they were there, but a few of them chimed in during the discussion. The main topic of the discussion was the "typical JMU girl" and most people came to the conclusion that the "typical JMU girl" was an ugg boot wearing, tanned, blondie that drinks on weekends, sleeps around, and wears name brand clothing. The conclusions some of the people came to were that girls entering college are very competitive when it comes to the way the act and look, so being pretty means wearing fashionable clothing (whether its yours or not), wearing make up and flirting with boys. Drinking is also looked at as acceptable behavior - its what you did freshman year and how most girls made friends. A lot of the girls there said they participated in these acts but that "it wasn't them" and that they were just "putting on an act" to fit in. They said they were confused as to how to act, what was deemed "cool", and just wanted to fit in with the other girls that they lived with. I agree that a lot of girls first entering college don't really know who they are and it takes that first year of experiencing college to figure themselves out. The general consensus was that most girls mature and find out that you don't have to dress up and drink to have fun and make firends, and I agree with this. The only way to change the stereotype of drunk, slutting-dressing JMU girls is to be open and not judgemental - also a theme uncovered in the discussion that we all could agree on.
2 comments:
I went to this discussion on Thursday. There was a decent turnout; probably about 30 people. There were only about 5 guys and it was surprising that there were any there at all. The crowd seemed to be mostly Womens' Studies majors. There were 2 "moderators" of the discussion who spoke every now and then, but the discussion went in many directions. Many people wanted to say that the "typical JMU girl" had a certain look; Ugg boots, blonde straight hair, and tan skin at all times of the year. Other people were hesitant to attribute the typical JMU girl to just someone who dressed a certain way; many said that we tend to group people who dress a certain way into a category, and that once you actually talk to someone you find out they are quite different. It was then established that the typical JMU girl was someone who carried herself a certain way; someone who is very competitive with other girls in looks and for boyfriends. Competition was a major theme in the discussion. It was then suggested that perhaps the typical JMU girl was just the typical college girl; this statement was refuted a little bit. I participated in the discussion at one point, simply to offer my view on the competition for guys at JMU. Overall, I think the outcome of the discussion was positive. Many of us decided that the only way the stereotype will change is through small actions of kindness, openness, friendliness, and support throughout campus. My only criticism of the discussion was that there was a lot of "us" and "them" talk; no one wants to say that they are the typical jmu girl or even entertain the idea.
I went to this discussion thinking it was going to be in a big room with someone in charge of starting the discussions. Instead it was a group of about 30 or so like Sarah said and we all sat around the room in a circle with two people who sort of led conversation topics if it died down. Most of the girls there were women's studies majors and the few guys that were there, well I don't know there majors or why they were there, but a few of them chimed in during the discussion.
The main topic of the discussion was the "typical JMU girl" and most people came to the conclusion that the "typical JMU girl" was an ugg boot wearing, tanned, blondie that drinks on weekends, sleeps around, and wears name brand clothing. The conclusions some of the people came to were that girls entering college are very competitive when it comes to the way the act and look, so being pretty means wearing fashionable clothing (whether its yours or not), wearing make up and flirting with boys. Drinking is also looked at as acceptable behavior - its what you did freshman year and how most girls made friends. A lot of the girls there said they participated in these acts but that "it wasn't them" and that they were just "putting on an act" to fit in. They said they were confused as to how to act, what was deemed "cool", and just wanted to fit in with the other girls that they lived with.
I agree that a lot of girls first entering college don't really know who they are and it takes that first year of experiencing college to figure themselves out. The general consensus was that most girls mature and find out that you don't have to dress up and drink to have fun and make firends, and I agree with this. The only way to change the stereotype of drunk, slutting-dressing JMU girls is to be open and not judgemental - also a theme uncovered in the discussion that we all could agree on.
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