We Owe Teenage Girls An Apology
Teenage girls: they’re cringey, hysterical, and have horrible taste. That’s what the world tells us. Being a teen girl means being constantly belittled for everything you do. The things traditionally liked by teen girls like boybands and rom-coms are seen as “girly” and annoying. But when girls are interested in things marketed to boys like video games and sports they’re “trying too hard” and not “true” fans. No matter what teenage girls do they can’t win. You’d think the horror community- a community used to having their interests belittled- would understand, but we’re some of the worst offenders when it comes to shaming teen girls’ interests.
Take Twilight for example. Twilight was one of the most successful horror franchises of the 2000’s and created space for more teen horror content. Yet, many in the community are quick to insult the series. Regardless of whether you liked Twilight or not, you can’t deny that it did something for teen girls that no other content had done before. Much of the content marketed towards men like Batman vs Superman or Godzilla vs Kong is allowed to simply be “fun” and not necessarily have the strongest storylines, but films like Twilight are mercilessly disparaged. Why don’t we grant films for teens the same perspective?
Teenage girls are often seen as hysterical for their obsessions. They’re laughed at for literally just showcasing their interests. I would argue that there’s virtually no difference between the things marketed to teenage girls and sports besides the fact that society belittles one and normalizes the other. Having One Direction pictures all over your room is considered silly when there are entire sports bars dedicated to one team. Sports fans will set fires around cities after games, but writing fanfiction is silly. Wearing a “Team Jacob” shirt is stupid but wearing a jersey is perfectly fine (they’re literally the same thing by the way).
That being said, there are tons of teenage girls that don’t like Twilight and One Direction. Or they like those things but they also like Star Wars and AC/DC. When they do like more traditionally masculine things, however, they’re often pushed to the side. They’re seen as “fake fans” that are only pretending to like them for male attention. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard some form of: “Oh you’re a fan, well name every song they’ve ever released” I’d be able to buy every song ever released. Women, but especially young women, are constantly gate-kept from content marketed towards men. So when we like content marketed to us we’re stupid but when we like other content we’re only doing it for men. What are we supposed to like?
I get laughed at every time I bring up the beauty of Barbie films by people that have never even seen them! Why is it that we’re so quick to judge the things marketed towards teenage girls? Are Taylor Swift and Starbucks really bad, or are those beliefs actually rooted in misogyny? Billie Eilish has seven Grammys at nineteen years old and she’s still seen as untalented and basic. When we insult the interests of teenage girls we tell them that they’re stupid and not good enough. No wonder there are such high rates of anxiety and insecurity in teen girls, we’re degraded for all of our interests. I’m not saying that everyone has to like the things marketed to teenage girls, but we can at least respect them. It’s important to remember that art holds a different meaning for everyone (surely horror fans can understand this). Next time you feel like laughing at the Craft: Legacy or Jennifer’s Body think about what those films could mean for young girls. Maybe just let teens enjoy things without insulting them.
