SOCIETY SCRAPBOOK - little girls

And I think about how much of what girls do is about making themselves smaller. Wanting to suck their waists in and be thin. To not have said so much in public, with such an impact. To be like Hello Kitty – all smile, no mouth. I remember well the years from 12 to 14, where I learned to step back from the tests, step back from my brains, because girls weren't meant to initiate. Girls were meant to follow the boys, and I adored those funny boys. Who so often took our jokes and said them a little bit louder. (Heawood, 2013a).

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/08/dread-daughter-poos-smaller-girl-conform