Girls Speak Out!

What is this blog thing?

This blog was created by middle school students from Young Women's Leadership Charter School as a forum to exchange thoughts, opinions and ideas about creating social change around healthy relationships and sexuality.

RELATIONAL AGGRESSION-How does is manifest?

Relational Aggression is another term for Girl-on-Girl Violence. This comes in many forms. It can exist through gossip, lies, betrayal, isolation, exclusion and physical aggression.

DATING VIOLENCE- How does it manifest?

Dating violence is all about power and control. It manifests in five different ways:

-Verbal Abuse (put downs, yelling, etc)

-Physical Abuse (hitting, hurting, harming, etc)

-Emotional Abuse (making someone feel at-risk or in danger, physiological harm, etc)

-Sexual Abuse (forcing or coercing into any kind of unwanted sexual activity)

-Abuse of Male Privilege (using male power to achieve unfair desires- like forcing women to stay home and raise children even if they would rather work and share the childcare)

TECHNOLOGY AND VIOLENCE

How do people use technology for bullying or abuse purposes?

Internet- Myspace bullying, AIM conversations, posting pictures or blogging about someone, etc

Phones- obsessive texting, calling at all hours of the night, sharing personal messages and voicemails with people not in the conversation, sexting, etc.

BOUNDARY SETTING

What different areas do we need to set boundaries around in our relationships?

-Touch (Physical intimacy)

-Feelings (Emotional intimacy)

-How to contact us (phone, texting, etc)

-Safety options if engaging in sexual activity

What else?

SEXUALITY and SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Helpful terms-

Lesbian- A woman who is only attracted to other women.

Gay- A person who is attracted only to members of the same sex.

Bisexual- A person who is attracted to both men and women.

Transgender- A person whose gender identity does not correspond to their biological sex.

Queer- An umbrella term used by some LGBT people to refer to themselves.

Questioning- A person who is unsure about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Transsexuals- Were born into one socially constructed gender but identify psychologically and emotionally as the other.

Gender Queer- Individuals whose gender identity and/or gender expression falls outside of the cultural norm for their sex.

Intersex- A person born with both sex chromosomes.

Ally- A person outside of one, some, or all of the GLBT communities whose attitudes and behavior are both anti-homophobic and anti-heterosexist and who works toward combating homophobia and heterosexism on the personal and professional level.

POEMS

From one person to another- by Taty and Nikki

aggression moves girls
hanging up names

blown.
pushing, fighting, raucous messages
proportion.

a better example:
calling, kissing hugging.

Kera, her different hair


Kera, Kera, your hair is different
but it's ok.
People talk about you here and there
that your hair is different
brown, curly, ugly.
Kera, Kera, your hair is different
but it's ok.
All kids of colors
it's ok.


The tears of Amy


The tears of Amy happen every day
and she said to her mother
please make it go away.


She cries her little heart out every chance she gets
because all everyone does
is laugh and spit.


So little Amy cries every day
and hopes someone
will wipe the tears away.