Mental Health in the “Year of the Girl”
Let Girls Be Girls: Navigating the Maze of Girls’ Mental Health
“There seems to be a pop culture shift happening. The word “girl” has gone from once being used as a schoolyard insult to an everyday compliment with phrases like “That’s so girl,” its own budgeting strategy with “girl math,” an exercise with “hot girl walks,” and even 2023 being marked as the “Year of the Girl.” Young girls can now watch Barbie and see a woman as president or listen to Beyoncé and hear the most decorated Grammy-winning performing artist of all time. However, through all of this, it seems America Ferrera’s Oscar-nominated monologue from the recent Barbie movie still rings true. With feelings of persistent sadness and anxiety at an all-time high for teen girls in what has been identified as a crisis, girls’ mental health has never been important to discuss and understand.”
