A Girl's Guide to Feminism

FEMINISM FEMINISM

AA Girl’s Girl’s Guide Guide to to

Everything you need to know about the most important F-word.

What is Feminism?

Pg. 3 Am I a Feminist?

Pg. 4

15 Women Who Changed the World Pg. 6

“You Run Like a Girl” Pg. 5

Girls Rock Pg.10

Your Questions, Answered.

Pg.11

Issues, Life, Beauty, Facts & More Inside!

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ABOUT THE GUIDE

Feminism is an important topic for the girls of today. Through Girl Scouts, we have learned many valuable skills for our futures, including the power of girls. This guidebook will inform and educate about feminism, girl power and amazing women throughout history who have proven that women and girls can do anything.

Also included is information on our favorite feminist-run beauty and health brands, answers to your questions and important facts of feminism. Hope you’re ready to change the world!

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**WARNING** This guide contains a few topics that may be deemed inappropriate by some parents. While it is not intended to be offensive, some may find it so. Reader discretion is advised.

Let’s Take Action!

Feminism is the

SO, WHAT IS FEMINISM?

controversial, yet crucial, belief

Equal-Rights Movement,’

that women and men are equal

‘Women’s Rights,’ whatever you

on all levels. This includes

call it, it’s a movement for

socially, economically, and

everyone, and a fight for

politically. Feminism includes all

everyone.

genders, races, sexualities,

Feminism Is The Radical Notion That Women Are People Too.

‘Feminism,’ ‘Equalism,’ ‘The

There are a lot of myths

social classes, religions and

about feminism, such as that

more, grouping us all together

feminists hate men, they don’t

in a fight for equality.

like “girly” things, they don’t

Feminism highlights the

like makeup and hate shaving.

stigmas, oppression and

The truth is, while some

violence that people of every

feminists may dislike the color

background face and aims to

pink or never wear makeup,

solve these issues. It reveals the they all want the same thing: disadvantages of some humans

equality.

and the privileges of others.

Meninists?

If you’ve heard of feminism, you’ve likely also heard of meninism. Meninism is a movement started as a joke that advocates for the rights of men. Meninists traditionally are agaist feminists and their ideals because they think of feminism as a war against men. If you come across one, just walk away, they aren’t worth the fight.

Artwork by Valentin Brown soiarat.tumblr.com

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Do you think people of all genders should be equal?

A. Yes, duh.

B. I guess so...

C. Not really.

Women should have access to the same education as men.

A. Absolutely?

B. Well, yeah C. Sure, I guess

What do you think a feminist is?

A. Anyone who believes in total equality B. Anyone who wants to change the role of women in the world C. A person who thinks women are better than men

Women should have access to specialty healthcare, like breast cancer screenings, safe & legal abortions and regular check-ups.

A. Yes! Safe health care for women’s needs is important!

B. I don’t agree with all of it but yes, health care is needed and important.

C. No, they should just see a general doctor for everything.

FEMINIST?

Am I A

Gender Roles are...

A. Unnecessary and outdated B. Uh, not needed I guess?

C. What’s a gender role?

People should be allowed to love whoever they want.

A. Of course!

B. Sure, why not!

C. That doesn’t seem quite normal... but okay

Take our quiz and find out!

Who can be a feminist?

A. Literally anyone!

B. Isn’t it usually women & girls?

C. Only women & girls are feminists.

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

A. Yes B. Kind of C. Nope

MOSTLY A’S

MOSTLY B’S

MOSTLY C’S

If you answered mostly A’s, congrats! You fit the definition of feminism. Welcome to the fight, it’s time to change the world!

If you got mostly B’s, you’re on your way to being a feminist! You might not quite be there yet, but hopefully the more you learn, the more you’ll want to be a part!

If you answered mostly C’s, you aren’t quite matching the movement, but you’ll get there!

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“You Run Like a Girl” By Lydia Kramer This phrase is used by

So why it such a bad thing to run like a girl? Why is it a negative thing to be a girl?

Girls are fast, strong and

boys against one another as

determined and being a girl is

an insult, as a means to

something to be proud of, not

humiliate. But why is this an

a shameful thing.

insult? Why is it such a bad

If a girl can hold two world

thing to run like a girl?

records that haven’t been

Florence Griffith-Joyner,

beaten in 28 years, don’t you

known as “Flo-Jo,” broke the

want to run like that girl? Next

100-meter dash world record time you hear someone say back in 1988 with a time of “you run like a girl,” tell them 10.49 seconds. She has

thank you, because you do

since been considered to be

run like and girl, and girls are

the world’s fastest runner.

amazing.

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15 WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl living in the time of the holocaust (the murder of about six million Jews during World War II). She wrote in her diary an account about her time hiding from the German forces, and passed away at the age of fifteen while in a concentration camp. Her diary was published after her death and is one of the most read books in the world.

Mother Teresa was a woman who worked endlessly to take care of those who were not taken care of, giving everything to this cause. She was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and created "The Missionaries of Charity, a congregation with currently over 4,500 sisters.

Florence Nightingale saved many lives during the Crimean War, nursing many people and doing her best to make conditions more sanitary for the patients.

Through her work, she was able to shift the public's opinion about the profession of nurses.

Katharine Hepburn became a famous American actress and lived as one of Hollywood's leading ladies for over sixty years. The anti-communist attitude of the 1940s prompted her to become politically active. She was also an avid supporter of birth control and access to safe abortions.

Marie Curie was a Polish-born scientist who changed the world through her research on radioactivity, working as a physicist and chemist. She was the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.

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Margaret Thatcher was the first and so far, only, female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, also serving as the Leader of the Conservative Party for fifteen years.

Eleanor Roosevelt, also known as "The First Lady of the World," (due to her perseverance in human rights), was the United States of America's longestserving first lady as well as an activist, politician, and diplomat.

Malala Yousafzai stood up for women's education in Pakistan, and though persecuted for this and even shot by the Taliban (a group waging war in Pakistan) stayed strong in her beliefs and became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Coco Chanel, a French woman, made her name known as a women's fashion designer and founder of the Chanel brand, creating iconic styles which are still popular even to this day.

Amelia Earhart was an American woman, pilot, author, and received the the U.S. Distinguished Flying across for being the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean by herself.

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Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in the segregated south, starting the Montgomery Boycott and eventual desegregation of the south.

Millicent Fawcett was a British suffragist who was a tireless campaigner for women’s rights in the late 1800’s. In 1871, she co-founded Newnham College, Cambridge, in an attempt to provide equal education for women.

Madam CJ Walker was an African-American entrepreneur and social activist at the turn of the 20th century. She created a line of beauty products for African American women and became the first self-made, female millionaire.

Marlene Dietrich was a German actress during the early 20th century. In 1939, she became an U.S. citizen and throughout World War II, she housed German and French exiles and advocated for their citizenship.

Gloria Steinem is one of the most well known feminist icons of all time. In the 1960s and 1970s, she became a journalist on women’s issues and their rights, before branching into political activism. Even today she continues to speak out about inequality.

*All photos from wikipedia.com*

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What people in our community say about feminism...

We interviewed three different people in our community about female empowerment and feminism. Here’s what they had to say...

ying to empower Q: How are you tr young women? help them out in A: “By trying to n. Like with my any way that I ca e y making sure sh daughter, I enjo wrong, and good knows right and to take and bad, and how ” care of herself. eeler Wh -- Ryan Girl Scout Dad

s that you feminist mean “If being a vidual and of every indi r we po r e th to seek thei believe in y individual er ev a of am ts I the righ , then yes, they want to feminism life the way e 70’s when th grew up in I . was an st It ni mi t. fe d importan an r la pu and po more rights was pretty men to gain wo r fo y it opportun s that they opportunitie ybody to more of the empower ever to is rk wo y dreams deserve. ...M rations and als and aspi the person as ed reach any go lu d to be va an , ve ha ey that th e.” that they ar n -- Anne Erwi High School l, Beaverton pa ci in Pr

l girls work in an al “I chose to ughters,so a I have two da on myself as school, and ed to positi nt wa I k y, in ll th partia and I my daughters, do that than role model to to e tter plac be no be d so wanted to there’ school. I al ’s rl that gi l al at an young women e message to th ad re sp help terested in n who are in there are me as many try to have believing in equity. ...I I can about as s on ti sa of breaking conver ng, and kind ro st g in be self, er.” iarchy togeth down the patr s ’s Academy -- Kirk Elli her, St. Mary English Teac

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GIRLS ROCK

By Madeleine Millar

Debbie Harry

Grace Slick

Joan Jett

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Rock n’ Roll has been dominated by men for decades, but these women weren’t afraid to step up and take over the 60s, 70s and 80s.

When you think of rock n’ roll, the first musicians that come to mind are probably Elvis Presley, The Beatles or even The Rolling Stones.

Women have never been the main attractions as far as rock music goes, but in the 1960s, everything changed. Before Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane could perform for hundreds of thousands of people at Woodstock in 1969, someone had to invent rock n’ roll. Those classic, slashing guitar riffs are all based off of the work of a woman named Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Rosetta made gospel music mainstream.

She added her own twist to the music, by adding new guitar riffs and a bluesy, folky sound. That’s right. Rock n’ Roll was invented by a bisexual African American woman in the 1940s. After Sister Rosetta faded from the mainstream, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley changed the music they heard into the beginnings of classic rock. Some of the most well known women in rock music include Janis Joplin, the aforementioned Grace Slick, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks and Carly Simon.

Janis Joplin was part of the hippie counterculture of 1960s San Fransisco, and her scratchy, soulful voice sold out shows and record stores alike, making her a household name. Grace Slick fronted Jefferson Airplane, a band similar in style to Joplin’s. Her powerful voice was one of many in the peace revolution in the midst of the Vietnam war.

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At the turn of the decade, Stevie Nicks became the epitome of rock goddess as she toured the world with Fleetwood Mac. Her strong vocals and abnormal fashion sense left a lasting impression on rock fans that continues to withstand the test of time.

Carly Simon’s hit song “You’re So Vain” was seen as an ultimate girl power anthem in the early 1970s. Her unapologetic lyrics told the story of a self-involved man who didn’t realize what he was missing out on. The single sold over a million copies in the Unites States alone.

By the mid 70s, new forms of rock were appearing more prevalently. Debbie Harry fronted the punk rock band Blondie and her aggressive hits like “One Way or Another” remain rock radio staples even today. Joan Jett started in The Runaways when she was only fifteen years old, joining with a few other teenage girls she met in a dance club in Los Angeles. Her following solo career has proved lucrative as well, and most people easily recognize her cover of “I Love Rock and Roll” from the first few notes.

While women haven’t been as prevalent in rock music as their male counterparts, they have still made vastly important contributions to the genre and inspired millions of women and girls around the world to rock out, and rock on.

Your Questions, Answered.

A junior troop in our council had a few questions about feminism, here’s what we had to say...

“What does feminism mean?”

“How big is the wage gap?”

For every $1 a white man makes, a white woman makes 77 cents. African American and Hispanic women make even less, at 64 cents and 56 cents to a man’s dollar respectively.

Feminism is the fundamental belief that women should be equal to men in all respects, including socially, politically and economically.

“What are some examples of feminism in everyday life?”

“Why are there inequalities between genders?”

A few examples of everyday feminism would be responding to cat-callers on the street and telling them to leave you alone, or shutting down a sexist remark from a coworker or even just something as simple as explaining what feminism means to someone who doesn’t understand the concept. Feminism takes many forms and they don’t all have to be extreme.

While the exact causes of gender inequality are unknown, it likely began when farming became the mainstream industry for colonized lands. Women were physically unable to do the manual labor required and therefore men became the leaders. Since then, gender inequality has continually spiraled.

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THE ULTIMATE GIRL POWER LIST

From movies to clothing brands, here are a few of our favorite female powered things

The Girl Po

Girl-Run Brands

wer Pla yli

st * “I Wil l Surviv e” - Glo * “So W ria Gain h er * “Just at?” - P!nk a Girl” - No D * “Seet ou he * “Cele r” - Veruca S bt br a * “You ity Skin” - Ho lt Oughta le * Know” Morise - Alanis tte * * “One Way or Anothe * “You’ re r” * “Head So Vain” - C - Blondie arly Sim Over H on * “Cher eels” ry T * “Craz Bomb “- Th he Go-Go’s e Runa y ways * “Bad on You” - He art Reputa tion” * “Love Joan J is a Ba ett t * “Rhia nnon” tlefield” - Pat * - Fleetw B * “Chain ood M enetar o f F o a o c * “How ls” - Ar eth to + the D be a Heartbr a Franklin eaker” * song iamonds - Marin may in a cl

hing from * The HONEST Co. - everyt pplies hair care to cleaning su ee” * THINX - special “leak-fr r women on underwear designed fo their periods feminine * LOLA - organic cotton delivered right products that can be to your door - created * Me & the Bees Lemonade in Texas, part by an 11 year old girl s saving the of the profits go toward honey bees rie for dark * Nubian Skin - nude linge skin tones clothes you’ll * Nasty Gal - the coolest find on the web eup for every * IMAN Cosmetics - mak skin tone

ude se

Movies with Strong Fem ale Leads * Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) * Flashdance (1983) * Clueless (1995) * Legally Blonde (200 1) * 10 Things I Hate Ab out You (1999) * Pretty in Pink (1986) * Election (1999) * Guardians of the Ga laxy (2015) * Harry Potter (20012011) * Miss Congeniality (2 000) * Sisterhood of the Tr aveling Pants (2005) * Mean Girls (2004) * Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

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nsitive

lyrics

Feminist Books ystique * The Feminine M * The Second Sex e * The Color Purpl * The Help * The Bell Jar e Ring * Brown Girl in th s Tale * The Handmaid’ mily Dickinson * The Poems of E of Darkness * The Left Hand Edge of Time * Woman on the

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