Girls just aren't interested in that sort of stuff.... riiiiigggghhhttttt.....

I’m sad today. I’m sad because of what I never knew, what my parents never knew, what my friends never knew, what most people go through their lives never knowing. We never knew that we are limiting children’s lives by socializing them in gender roles from the time they are born. We never knew that girls are socialized to consume and reproduce and display themselves, whereas boys are socialized to create and produce and use tools and adventure into the unnknown. The pink cap on the baby girl, the blue cap on the baby boy, and so we begin. We don’t even think about it, it’s just ‘the way it is’.

We at Girl Power 3.0 spent the day browsing through toy shops. We were looking for clues as to why we are so insecure about our relationships with technology. We found the exact same toys as when we were kids, however now that we have the tools to unpack what we see, everything has such a different meaning. The girls toys were princesses, dolls, tea sets, babies, laundry games, kitchens, puppy dogs, hair-do parlors, styling games, friendship jewels, toy houses, on and on and on. The boys toys were construction tools, rockets, cars, train sets, science kits, music production, space exploration, on and on and on.

As Lipkin (2009) comments, “few toys offered to girls offer intellectual challenges, emphasize exploration or adventure, assume leadership, or goad girls into action. This conditioning seeps in and in a world where the refrain ‘but all opportunities are open to girls now’ is heard, it’s important to think back to how messages (and which messages) are first imprinted and the preparation for what kinds of roles these toys serve (p.10).

For eight years now I’ve wanted to learn to dj, I’ve come so close so many times, but I still haven’t. When I was 18 I used to stand right up close to the dj both and watch him turn knobs and press buttons, trying to learn from observation. When I was 19 years old and living in New Zealand, I bought decks and mixer on ebay, but cancelled my payment at the last minute because I moved cities. Another time, a big time dj in Auckland offered to take me on as his apprentice, but after being sexually assaulted I left the country. I’ve been immersed in the electronic music culture for eight years now, I’m friends with dozens of DJs, music producers, sound techs, and mc’s, the VAST majority of whom are male, I’ve dated an array of them, and still, I have yet to learn for myself. Secretly, many of my girlfriends who dance on stages want to become DJs. We talk about it amongst ourselves – the kinds of music we would play, the way we would work together, the power and thrill of learning the skills – and still, none of us have.


But the world is 'open' to me, to us, we have every opportunity available, right??… so why aren’t we girls rockin dancefloors all over the world like our male friends? Well, before doing research for this project I didn’t really know why. I just thought it was my own fault for not trying hard enough, being committed enough... But something clicked today as I walked down the aisles of toys r us … From the time we are little girls, through the toys we play with and activities we are engaged in, we are subliminally indoctrinated not to produce, not to invent, not to create…

So, next year in 2012, I’m doing it. I’m going to campus radio and I’m going to learn how to use all the equipment. I’m going to get my own radio show. I’ve been afraid of failing for so long, afraid of confirming the stereotypes that girls don’t understand technology, afraid of not being able to create anything ‘good’… But fuck it. I'm going to learn, I'm going to make mistakes in public, and I'm going to get over it... And once I have some skills, I’m going to encourage all my girl friends to do the same, because we need us out there, we need each other making music, playing music, we need each other as role models and supporters, we need to hear each others brilliance, we need to create.