If you believe the children are our future, here’s a reason to hope the earth doesn’t get melancholia’ed anytime soon.
A group of teenage girls in the suburbs of Chicago started a feminism club at school. Their rad teacher sponsor wrote about it over at Bitch, and it is downright inspiring. One of the first things the group decided to do was make a list of “current, mainstream ‘feminist idols’ they and their friends look up to.” The list is all celebrities, which isn’t surprising because celebrities are the most fun. However, their reasons for liking the celebrities are thoughtful, smart, and makes us believe we might not be totally fucked.
For example:
3. Mindy Kaling: When I asked my students if they ever watch The Office, a few of them had only seen handful of episodes. However, they all know who Mindy Kaling is. One of my sophomore students noted, “It is so refreshing to see a young woman of color who is not ashamed to be normal-sized and who is also super funny.” (My students are the smartest, huh?)
A few other takeaways: It’s wonderful there’s three women of color on the list, and of course, they’re all reading Rookie — who isn’t?
Give these teens a few years, and they’ll teach us how to be better humans. No pressure, ladies, the world isn’t in your hands or anything.
[Bitch]