Just Look at Yourself Empowerment for Middle School Girls Parent Presentation

Understanding Adolescent Girls  Physical and emotional changes  Parents both pulled in and pushed away

Living in Two Worlds  One foot in childhood, the other in adulthood  A difficult transition

Feeling Like Two Different People  Feeling like one person at school and another person at home  “Trying on” different looks and groups of friends

Drop in Self-Esteem  Growing self- doubt  What is to blame?

1.Physical Changes  Hormones  Growth spurts  Body hair, odor, acne  Coordination  Menarche

2.Expectations of Personality Development  Quieting of their “voice”  Feeling they must choose whether to be loved  “Everything good in me died in junior high”

3.Media Influences  Ads, magazines, music videos  Roles of women in TV and movies  Increased media exposure  Fiji study

4.School Environment and Learning Styles  Girls do most of their identity work at school  Schools stress competition, not cooperation  Girls learn better in groups

5.Disappointment in Future Prospects  Feeling dismay that women are still underpaid and underrepresented  Observing that women have less power than men