Averiette 1 Kyra Averiette Professor Lewis English 114A 10 / 31 / 13 Girls Can anyone say that they know what

goes through a girls brain and why she does the things she does? There is a very simple answer: girls are complicated. Girls have the capability to be a wild and rebellious one minute and respectable polite young ladies the next. You never know which side of a girl you are going to get. Girls have a tendency to act one way around their friends whereas when they are around boys their personalities, as well as their appearance, dramatically changes. Every girl has fallen under this spell of multiple personalities, and some girls do not even know it. The most common reason that girls are influenced to change themselves is societys opinion on what is considered beautiful. It is common for young girls to watch Alice in Wonderland. It is a classic movie that portrays innocence and curiosity. Alice in Wonderland was remade portraying a much more accurate image of modern America. Young girls today are influenced to be rebellious and seditious. Observing a young girl around her best friends or family as opposed to how she acts around a boy she likes is an example of Alice in Wonderland. Girls show their true innocence, Disneys Alice, privately. On the other hand girls show their rebellious nature, Tim Burtons Alice, when in public. Society and media has shaped the way that girls look at themselves, forcing them to change their personalities and appearance in certain situations to gain approval. For my freshman English class we were given an assignment to write an ethnography on a topic that related to our class. For my ethnography I observed the difference between girls

Averiette 2 when they are around family and close friends as opposed to girls out in public with boys and people they want acceptance from. When girls are alone they can be themselves around their close friends or family, they can say exactly what is on their mind and are not afraid to show who they truly are. They are loud and opinionated and they do not feel judged. Girls do not have to wear makeup or put on clothes that accentuate specific features. Girls do not have to pretend to be anything they are not. They can be honest about who they are. You will never see a girl take hours to get ready to go and hangout with her best friend; she will simply put her hair up and throw on some sweatpants because she knows she has no one the impress. I live in an apartment with three other girls. None of us dress up or put on makeup when we are just hanging out in the living room because we dont feel any pressure to have to look good. When my roommates and I are just lounging around we can speak freely and say things that we cannot say to other people. I do not have to make myself into the image of beautiful when I am alone I can be myself. On the contrary, when girls go out to parties or simply out with boys they play the role that society has set for them. When girls are around boys not only do their personalities change, but their appearance changes as well. Girls act like a different person in order to be accepted by their peers and people that they have feelings for. Girls change their personality because they are afraid of judgment. In modern society girls are held to lower standards and labeled with inaccurate stereotypes brought upon by media. When you go out in public on a summer day not only will you see a girl in an outfit that accentuates her chest, stomach, and legs, but you will also see her hair done and a full face of makeup. A girl can look like a whole new person, as well as act like one. While out with boys girls tend to be giggly, flirty, and shy, they do not show who they really are for fear of being rejected. Girls have an easy time picking up on signs from boys whether the signs indicate

Averiette 3 interest in them or not. Girls will stand in a corner at a party waiting for a guy to make a move on her rather than attempt to start a conversation and embarrass herself. Girls have a tendency to feel threatened by other girls at parties; especially when another girl is talking to a boy that she is interested in. Every girl is the same, myself included. When I go out to a party with my roommates I can take up to 2 hours to get ready. I will constantly change outfits, fix my hair and re-do my makeup in order to make a boy notice me at a party. Girls take the role of a rebel when they go out. They say and do things that they would never think of doing when they are alone, but they do it because of the pressure that is placed upon them to be cool. A girl that is innocent and honest in the privacy of her home cannot show their true self in public or else she will be branded as a baby or a prude. No girl wants the negative labels that media has created so they go along with the expectation, they do things that they are not comfortable with to make sure that their reputation is not ruined. Girls play the role of angel and devil in order to satisfy what society expects of us. Alice in Wonderland, both the Disney version and the Tim Burton version portray the idea of innocence verses rebellion. In Disneys version of Alice in Wonderland everything in the movie is colorful, bright, and happy. Alice is an innocent, curious young girl, she does not see the evil in people; she speaks her mind because she does not have anything to fear. She is an example on the innocence of young girls, the way girls act when they are around their parents or best friends. Girls do not need to feel pressure to be what society wants them to be whether that may be a slut or a badass or anything else that teenagers deem as cool. A girl can simply be who she wants to be whether she is innocent or not. When I am around my family I do not curse, I do not yell, I do not do anything that would make me seem like a bad child. On the contrary when girls are out in public and around their crushes they turn into Alice from the Tim Burton

Averiette 4 version of Alice in Wonderland. The Tim Burton version is set with Alice as a teenager, the story is much darker and portrays a realistic image of the world. In the Tim Burton version you can see the difference in Alices attitude and the evil nature of the other characters. This version of the movie shows how girls act when they are in public around new people or people they are interested in. Young girls in todays society act much older than they are. Girls who are eleven years old will dress like they are seventeen just so that they can fit in to the image that society says is beautiful. The reason that girls are insecure and feel the need to change themselves to feel accepted is because of the pressure that society puts on teenagers to be perfect. When girls are around each other they are much more comfortable to be themselves. They also do not feel the need to look perfect or act the way that society expects. However, when girls are out with boys in public they feel the need to dress as well as act the way that society wants them to. Girls act stupid and giggly towards guys to get attention, but as a result girls are given stereotypes such as dumb blonde, and bimbos. The only reason girls are labeled is because young innocent girls watch the media and it influences them to be sluts or dumb blondes. Girls usually do not even realize how hard they try when they go out and try to get a boys attention. It has become a sort of second nature to us, when we go out we have to straighten our hair and do our makeup but when we stay home we can lounge around in sweatpants and a messy bun with a fresh, makeup free, face. Society sets a double standard for girls; at home we must be precious angels who do nothing wrong, on the other hand when we are in public we must be the rebellious devil who take risks based on what celebrities do.

Averiette 5 Works Cited

Alice in Wonderland.Dir.Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske. Perf. Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna. Walt Disney Productions, 1951. Film

Alice in Wonderland. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2010. Film