I've listened to a lot of youth radio stories over time, but none have outright disturbed me as much as this one. It didn't regale me with stories about gang violence or cautionary tales about eating disorders - rather, through humor, it made me realize something downright CREEPY about myself: I had become one of those irritating and shallow girls who bought pants to impress my boyfriend.
The piece started out on a good note, with overlapping freshmen describing what they were wearing. This effectively created a sense of chaos while emphasizing that all these girls were in essence wearing the same thing. Then, through probing and incisive interviewing, the piece's author made listeners question why they bought and wore what they did. I found myself looking down at my American Eagle shirt and Gap pants more than once, and realizing I didn't really have a good answer to that question. Throughout, the narration juxtaposed quotes from Seventeen magazine with these fashion-obsessed ninth graders for a very effective dose of humor.
This piece is, on the surface, very light-hearted, but the issues it exposes are not. I have read many a feminist "expose" on why women dress the way they do, and none were as revealing as this piece. I'd listen to it again, but I'm off to the local thrift store now to pick up some tye-dye.
Review of Dressy Girls
Emily Raymond
Posted on January 30, 2006 at 02:52 PM
I've listened to a lot of youth radio stories over time, but none have outright disturbed me as much as this one. It didn't regale me with stories about gang violence or cautionary tales about eating disorders - rather, through humor, it made me realize something downright CREEPY about myself: I had become one of those irritating and shallow girls who bought pants to impress my boyfriend.
The piece started out on a good note, with overlapping freshmen describing what they were wearing. This effectively created a sense of chaos while emphasizing that all these girls were in essence wearing the same thing. Then, through probing and incisive interviewing, the piece's author made listeners question why they bought and wore what they did. I found myself looking down at my American Eagle shirt and Gap pants more than once, and realizing I didn't really have a good answer to that question. Throughout, the narration juxtaposed quotes from Seventeen magazine with these fashion-obsessed ninth graders for a very effective dose of humor.
This piece is, on the surface, very light-hearted, but the issues it exposes are not. I have read many a feminist "expose" on why women dress the way they do, and none were as revealing as this piece. I'd listen to it again, but I'm off to the local thrift store now to pick up some tye-dye.