The days following Adree's vlog, I looked for more images to retweet from the challenge to show Adree and the world that I did value feminine skills, hoping others would follow my lead and get some of these images circulating. After I retweeted Dylan's picture (in which I proclaimed him one of my best friends), the people of the Twitterverse had shared and favorited it more than two-hundred times.
Ms. Brooks had posted a picture of herself teaching in front of her whiteboard, but she hadn't received much attention for it, so I also retweeted that.
Which prompted Alex to retweet her picture, too, writing:
Alex the Kettle @deathblackthrash6666
My favorite teacher! She deserves to be respected as much and paid as well as the teachers in Finland.
Then he provided a link for his own weekly Tumblr post, which talked about how much better Finland's education system is, about how all the teachers were really qualified and respected.
His post made me think that Ms. Brooks did deserve more respect, not only for her role as a teacher, but for her role as an English teacher. Most people didn't think that English or any other humanities field was "worthy," but how was learning about the language that constructs our society's beliefs unworthy? How was teaching how to deconstruct, combat, and use this language unworthy? People thought the humanities were unworthy, because they were "feminine."
Suddenly, I remembered that one tweet I had received after my #WhatGirlsAreMadeInto challenge, the one about how closing the wage gap was as simple as girls changing their majors from humanities fields to STEM fields.
I thought STEM fields were great and necessary and that girls needed to realize that they could do them too, but I also thought that humanities fields were great and necessary and deserved respect.
So, instead of posting another vlog on February 21st, I took the lazy way out and sent out some tweets:
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
.@AdreeSchmadree_dancer has brought to my attention that my challenge has been favoring masculine over feminine.
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
Confession: I almost didn't post that bike picture because I didn't think I could put together my bike by myself
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
Girls: we can do SO MANY things that are considered "masculine" w/ the right confidence and determination. Just try!
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
BUT @AdreeSchmadree_dancer is right. "Feminine" things should be valued as much as "masculine" things.
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
And, another confession: "Feminine" things can be so hard. Baking? WAY harder than mountain biking, IMO.
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
"Feminine" things are important. Humanities fields? Super important.
Dallas Delaney @DallasDelaney
Let's share and retweet more of the feminine #LOOKWhatICanDo posts.
The people of the Twitterverse actually listened to my tweets, including Benny, who retweeted the photo of Dylan painting a water-color and who shared an Instagram photo of his own hand donning nail polish (which was all over his cuticles) with the hashtags #LOOKwhatIcantdo #epicfail #nailedit #nailpolishedit. Syndey Reicher, his crush, actually responded to him:
Sydney Reicher @SydRBaby
Lovely, lol
Benny texted me right afterwards going bats over it.
Benny
Sun, Feb 21, 11:47 PM
Benny
Did u c? Sydney likes my nails!
Dallas
Omg you ARE so silly!
You used to be my most masculine friend
Benny
I'm just more comfortable embracing my femininity now
What should I say back?
Dallas
Idk...ask her out?
Benny
No.
Dallas
Don't be silly...if she's tweeting you then she might be interested
Valerie posted another picture of her and Adree together in what looked like dance costumes, complete with a tweet:
Valerie Devant @VVDevant
.@DallasDelaney @AdreeSchmadree_dancer Dance is WAY harder than football. It's a sport AND an art!
Chad Anderson @ChadAnderson_CrystalShore
@VVDevant Babe u dont even play football how would you know
Valerie Devant @VVDevant
@ChadAnderson_CrystalShore How much coordination does it really take to tackle someone?
Chad Anderson @ChadAnderson_CrystalShore
@VVDevant Im gonna let that slide because ur pretty
Valerie Devant @VVDevant
@ChadAnderson_CrystalShore I'm not the one who needs to worry here. If anyone's on thin ice, it's you
Adree Richards @AdreeSchmadree_dancer
@VVDevant Awww we were so little!
The picture of Adree and Valerie together, looking a lot younger and wrapping their arms around each other, surprised me. It made me think back to when they'd been friends—another memory of middle school, resurfaced. What had happened?
YOU ARE READING
#GirlsShitToo
Teen FictionFor her senior project, Dallas Delaney starts Girls Shit Too, a series of vlogs inspiring girls to ditch the constraints of femininity and adopt the perks of masculinity. That's when another girl in her English class, Adree, uses her own online plat...
