Brielle Colby

CAS100A- Section # 207

Hillary Jones

 

Policy Speech

Is Girl World at Peace?

 

Introduction

I. (Attention Getter) “She’s the queen bee-the star, those other two are just here little workers. She’s fabulous but she’s evil.” This is the quote I found from the infamous movie, Mean Girls. A movie that most of you if not all of you could probably recite an entire scene from. So what happens when popularity goes to a girl’s head? “Girl world”, as quoted by Mean Girls, is not a peace.

 

II. (Audience Adaptation) Everyone in front of me has probably had a run in with someone who you thought or thought of themselves as “queen bees.” I can also almost guarantee that this run in was one that you would rather not have again. They can be ruthless, two-faced; they can even trick you into making you think they are your best friends.

 

III. (Credibility statement) I’ve been there. I have attended two high schools an ALL GIRLS catholic high school and public high school. I have seen these “Queen Bees” at their worst. I’ve watched them target another girl for not being like them. You’re not wearing pink? It’s Wednesday, and that means you can’t sit with them.

 

IV. (Thesis) Media is affecting relationships among teen girls, especially girls in high school by confusing their actual reality with the reality found in books, movies and television shows

 

V. (Preview of main points)

a. A. Problem: “First, I will convince you that the content media is producing is affecting the relationships teen girls are having with their peers.

b. Plan/policy: “Second, I will explain my plan of how to limit the amount a teen watches and consumes so that the are not as vulnerable to repeating what they see.”

c. Cure: “Third, I will show how my plan will solve the problem of the Mean Girl attitude found in most high schools around the nation and the world.”

d. Cost: “and lastly, I will show how the benefits of my plan outweigh the costs”

 

(Transition) So where are high school girls getting their ideas from?

 

Body

 

I. Main point # 1: The media is producing content directed at teen girls that they are tempted to repeat in their actual reality.

A. This is hurting the relationships these girls are having with their peers, and they are beginning to get an off-balanced view of what is important in life and what is not.

1. According to a New York Times article that came out August of 2006 it says “an explosion of racy novels aimed at older teenage girls, including “Gossip Girl” and “The A-List” series, have younger girls clamoring, too, upsetting parents and leading book stores to take them off the shelves.” Diane Garrett, owner of a bookstore herself, even goes on to explain “I had a 13-year-old in here yesterday with her mother and she didn’t want anything but sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.” What are these books really teaching the girls of our generation today?

2. Mean Girls, the movie was I was speaking about earlier is a story about a girl who moves from Africa to the United States and attends her first high school ever. Long story short, she is eventually brainwashed by “The Plastics” and begins to think that everyone different from her is below her. Writer of the movie Mean Girls Tina Fey says as quoted on “Not Coming To Theatres Near You” that she is troubled by the social-politics that shape the identities of young women. So why would Tina Fey create a movie that condones this behavior of young women and creating lines that present day “Plastics” can use on other people.

3. The problem with the media today is that it is producing movies, books and even television shows that put a humorous spin a really serious issue. Mean Girls, I’ll even admit, was a really funny movie, but if you take a step back you realize that what you’re laughing at really is not that funny.

B. We have always referred to them as one thing, the Popular Girls, and no matter how much you said you didn’t, you wanted to be them. It did not matter to what length it meant, but sometimes the length is too far.

1. In April of 2005 Lifetime produced and showed a movie based off of a novel by Rachel Simmons” found on imdb.com. The book and movie are both called Odd Girl Out. It is a story of a girl who starts off being best friends with the “Queen Bee”, but a fight later leaves her struggling through her days of torture by her former best friend. I will now show you a clip from the movie “Odd Girl Out”.

2. As you can see this girl has become so consumed of what her old friends thought of her, she begins to go off the deep end. This, unlike Mean Girls, is a more accurate portrayal of what happens when popular girls get out of line. But where are these girls learning this stuff? The media. With TV shows such as One Tree Hill and the OC you can easily pick out “The Popular Girl”. Now imagine a young girl watching this, wanting to be just like them, so much so they will even tear down other girls around them.

 

(Transition) So how do we stop this from happening?

 

II. Main point # 2: I believe that parenting is a big key with this problem. Parents should first be monitoring exactly what a child is watching because the younger a child is the more they are likely to believe what they are seeing is reality.

III. Also, after working a summer camps, I notice the “queen bee” syndrome happening a lot, and most times I was too tired to correct it. This is where the girls will start to think its ok to pick and tease someone. It’s not ok, and the more we tell them this, the more they are likely to lessen these negative behaviors.

 

(Transition) So will this really work?

 

IV. Main point # 3:

V. A. In the end girls will always be girls, but with a little guidance and discipline from their parents the “Mean Girl” behavior will not be as abundant in high schools across the nation. I also believe that letting young girls, even our peers slide when they are exerting such a behavior we are allowing this vicious cycle to keep moving.

1. According to Child Parenting.com “Cliques can be minimized in the school setting, even in a community atmosphere that promotes cliquishness and exclusivity. But, it takes administrators, teachers, and parents who know how to disrupt cliques early and teach children the importance of diversity and inclusion.”

 

(Transition) So don’t we all want girl world at peace?

 

VI. Main point # 4: Cost/benefit Analysis

A. The benefits to my plan will be great.

1. The media will never stop creating high-school comedies that do nt show the Popular Girls doing what they do best, but with parents and teachers not allowing teen girls or girls of any age to treat other girls differently because of how they look, dress, or what the like. Parents will have a stronger hand on their child’s actual reality so that the reality of the movies they watch and the books they read are not affecting them.

 

(Transition)

 

Conclusion.

VI. Media is affecting relationships among teen girls, especially girls in high school by confusing their actual reality with the reality found in books, movies and television shows

 

I. (Review main points)

A. The media is producing content that is affecting relationships teen girls are having with their peers

B. But with my plan the affects will not be as hurtful and great as they are right now.

B. With parents, teachers, and guardians of the girls keeping a watchful eye and enforcing discipline we hoped to one day no longer worry about “queen-bees” hurting other girls.

C. There is no cost here. It just requires some time and dedication to the problem at large, and with the media producing the content they are, this is a fight we can’t stop fighting.

 

CLAP LINE: So, why be a part of a queen bee group when you can be so much more. So I’ll end with the words of e.e cummings “to be nobody but myself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make me everybody else means, to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.”

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

 

 

http://childparenting.about.com/od/emotionaldevelopment/a/cliques.htm

 

Diane Garrett

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/

 

http://www.notcoming.com/reviews/meangirls/

 

http://www.nytimes.com

 

http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Ee-Cummings/1/index.html

 

 

 

 

Brielle -- you have a very good attention getter! I think you did a really good job relating your speech to us as the audience! Can't wait to hear it..! -- Aimee

 

Dear Brielle, i love how you reference Mean girls and include personal references to establish credibility with you audience.  I can't wait to hear you do your speech today!-Kelsie Good job! I really liked how you opened and closed with a quote it was creative unlike what other people had done. The only that I think you should work on for next time is your eye contact and to look at your audience more.  Other than that i think you did really well!

 

Brielle- similar to what kelsie said... your opening and closing were both very creative and caught my attention.  You also varied your voice to show emphasis and moods in certain points.  Next time work on your eye contact.  Good job though. Ryan S

 

Brielle- I really liked the introduction, i liked the incorporation of mean girls because the movie is based on bascially what your speech is.  the only thing you need to work on is your eye contact, but thats what everyone needs to work on.-matt

 

Brielle, you started your speech well by using a strong pop culture movie as an example. You offered a strong solution too. Good Job. - Joe

 

Brielle, I loved how you used a topic probally everyone in the class could relate to. the speech was very creative, good job! ~Lisa