Feminist Revival from Preteens

I did not want to get up with my 8 a.m. alarm today. After getting up daily at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday is my cherished "sleep til I’m full" day. I love to wake up at 6, look at the clock and roll back over to sleep til my body is so rested it practically begs to get out of bed. Sometimes I wake up at a decent hour but will just lay there in bed, enjoying the luxury of wasting away my morning. Eventually I will get up, make some coffee, maybe go get a bagel and read some New Yorker.

But not today. Today I got up at 8 a.m. By 9:30, I was showered, clothed, bageled, coffee’d and early for my first volunteer day with the nonprofit Girls in the Game. The organization integrates physical health with mental and academic health in girls aged 7-17. It believes the most successful girls are the well-rounded ones who are introduced to a wide variety of sports, skills and activities; it is so basically feminist (equality in body and spirit) that you could almost mistake it for just another after school program. But the program only allows girls to participate and the differences in the girls’ attitudes and behavior is visible. But enough of my feminist kick- you get the idea.

I was almost nervous entering the field house knowing I would be confronted with the effortlessly judgmental gaze of dozens of preteens. The gazes were there but they were more of curious nature than of the vindictive middle school hatred I remember. These girls seemed open and comfortable; it almost seemed like a different world. The older girls in the Varsity Square were preparing to “man” the stations and run the program. As they were running through their itineraries it was had to distinguish between the high school squad members and the staff; everybody seemed so in control and confident- a rare feat for high schoolers. As the program went on I saw the occasional temper tantrum -one third grader who quit after being tagged, another who refused to get in line- but in even these girls were easily redirected and everybody seemed to genuinely enjoy the program.

I don’t want to attribute this amazing transformation in girls strictly to the fact that there were no boys present; the staff was well organized, cohesive and seemed to genuinely excited. However I can not imagine 25 preteen girls and boys gently bouncing tennis balls on a racket in a game of popcorn without seeing a boy whack the ball into some girl’s face. I cannot imagine kids learning fencing without boys playing swords and girls backing away to the sides. I can’t imagine girls leading games without hesitation with boys jostling for the lead.

But these girls didn’t back away, they took the lead and proved that the next generation of women will be stronger, wiser and more powerful. For me it is a realization that made getting up at 8 a.m worth it.