A couple weeks ago, I was finishing the newest season of “Girl Meets World” (GMW) on Netflix. Go ahead, judge me. I don’t care. I grew up watching “Boy Meets World” (BMW). Yes, I was super young when I watched it. I also watched the reruns. The writers and producers of BMW always did an excellent job of appealing to your emotions and real life situations that were incredibly pertinent during the time. GMW does the same thing. From “people change people” to “what us does for them,” which means “how we help those less fortunate than us,” to “our greatest allies are the people right next to us,” the show covered it all. It talked about autism to money to girls’ disinterest in science, which is where my train of thought comes in.
I was watching Girl Meets STEM and was so intrigued by how the writers approached it. A science teacher partnered the class boy, girl, and had them divide the experiment up in two parts. One had to drop the marble in something after school, the other had to figure out what the resulting stuff was. All the girls ended up showing up to drop the marble in, and Riley didn’t drop the marble because she didn’t think it was OK. It started off as a war of girls vs. boys, but Riley and Farkle (who were lab partners) soon figured out that in order for the experiment to be successful, they had to work together and communicate clearly. The end result was an EQUAL PARTNERSHIP and success. Because when men and women work together EQUALLY we all become more successful.
I was watching this at the same time the #WhenIWas was trending on social media. For those unfamiliar, the hashtag brought awareness to how old girls were when they were sexually harassed for the first time. And the number of girls who were told they couldn’t do science or math was insane. Luckily, I grew up in an environment where I was never told I couldn’t succeed in math or science. But I know the stories. I know the data.
GMW took a different approach. They had a male teacher conduct this experiment to create awareness of the drop off. And they ended it with a successful partnership across the sexes. And it got me thinking about how polarized these debates have gotten. Recruiting girls in STEM isn’t to pit girls against boys the same way feminism isn’t. It’s all about equal rights and equal opportunities. And what’s interesting is the success happens when males and females are equal partners. The show approached this simply, and it reminded me of how inspired I used to be and how I want to be inspired like that again.
And I get where Riley is coming from. She likes science, and she should be able to participate. I am a woman. I like to challenge myself, I like to do inspiring things. I have dreams of making a difference in the world. I have an amazing squad of girls that I surround myself with. But I also have some incredibly amazing guy friends and a great male support system. I grew up around boys (Gardner girls are hard to come by) and I grew up around girls (women’s gymnastics team). Having both of those relationships were beneficial. It’s still beneficial. There are different perspectives, and that’s a good thing.
However, I think society wants you to be a girl’s girl and a guy’s guy. There is this line that separates the sexes that shouldn’t be there. Both can be successful in the kitchen, both can be successful in their careers. And let me tell you, having a supportive system of girls is the most amazing thing because that in itself is rare.
Both can be successful in the kitchen, both can be successful in their careers. And let me tell you, having a supportive system of girls is the most amazing thing because that in itself is rare.
But, again, what amazed me the most was that the episode focused so much on the partnership between Riley and Farkle, a girl and a guy. They were equals and they succeeded. And I think that was what inspired me most. It made me realize that sometimes we spend too much time feeding into the polarizing media stories that we forget we are human beings with thoughts and feelings and ideas. It made me realize, I don’t want to just be a girl’s girl. I want to be a girl’s girl and a guy’s girl. I want to support girls and guys. I want to support the partnership.
Because when we work together, when we listen to each other, when we treat people as our equals, we are more successful and the world will become a better place.
Because when we work together, when we listen to each other, when we treat people as our equals, we are more successful and the world will become a better place.
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