What Problems Could an American Teenager Have?
Although Emily is blonde, has fair skin, and likes Mean Girls, she is not your stereotypical blonde “white girl”. She does not understand why this stereotype even exists because the “white girl” actions are just common teenage girl things. If one is not familiar, a "white girl" is one that is typically characterized as an airhead who loves to wear yoga pants, shop, eat from Chipotle and Starbucks, and/or listens to infectious pop music on the radio. Emily believes that these stereotypes undermine who she is. She also believes that practically every teenage girl performs actions that a "white girl" will.
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Defying the Categorization
Emily is very unlike the blonde "white girl" stereotype. She completely dislikes Starbucks coffee, especially the Pumpkin Spice Latte (known to be a ravishing drink by most teenage girls). She does not own a pair of Uggs or yoga pants, for that matter. Emily prefers home-cooked meals any day, over Chipotle. She has never seen Pitch Perfect and is not obsessed with boy bands, such as One Direction. The fact that Emily is so labeled greatly offends her. She said, "I really don't even know why these stereotypes exist. Did someone sit there and say, 'Oh wow, I hear a lot of teenage girls do this. Why don't we just characterize white American teenage girls by this? They makeup the majority of US teenagers,'?. The marketing and advertising in this day and age specifically targets a certain race and age, and It's crazy. I don't know if what I am saying makes any sense, but I just feel wish I could speak without being judged immediately by someone else."
Last Pick
When in lower school, many people treated Emily as if she were dumb, because of her race and hair color. For some strange reason, there were only 3 blondes in her class. A lot of times, she would not be chosen for group projects. The kids would say, “We don’t want her to mess up our project, she is too slow,” or “Sorry but we don’t have room for dumb blondes.” It seems ridiculous that even ten years ago, children still discriminated against each other in class. Even though as kids a lot of the students didn't know better, Emily is still taunted by the harsh words her peers, muttered ages ago.
ExpectationsVs. Reality
The disappointing part about this was that Emily was far from dumb. She had straight A’s and was always in the top of her class. Why was she “a dumb blonde?" Emily blames movies and films for influencing America to participate in upholding these stereotypes. Blondes have always been targeted as the “dumb” ones in the bunch. In Legally Blonde, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is not accepted or taken seriously in law school. She had the same capabilities as her peers, but was judged by her appearance and he habits. By the end of the movie, Elle proves to be just as smart, if not smarter, when compared to the other students. Also, in movies like Mean Girls, the ever so popular and perfect Regina George is a rude, selfish blonde student, notorious for treating others badly. Emily also believes that this is not a true stereotype seen in blondes in popular teenage films. The media has such a great impact on Americans today, and it can
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influence many viewpoints.
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influence many viewpoints.
Doing Whatever She Wants
Why does a blonde have to prove herself to others? Whether Americans would like to believe it or not, everyone goes through struggles. Hair color has absolutely nothing to do with one’s intelligence or place in society. What one does should not create a stereotype. Emily says, "If a girl wants to wear her Uggs or buy a latte on a cold day, she should be able to without people harassing her." Harmless jokes have escalated into culturally insensitive remarks. No matter what background one is from, everyone is made to be accepting of others.