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Read about Rachel Simmons work with girls in The New York Times.
Lessons in breaking the curse of the good girl-from the bestselling author of Odd Girl Out
Rachel Simmons argues that in idealizing the "good girl"-unerringly nice, polite, modest, and selfless- we teach girls to embrace a version of selfhood that curtails their power and potential.
Drawing on the exercises Simmons herself uses in her work with girls, parents, and educators, The Curse of the Good Girl provides a catalog of practical strategies to foster girls' assertiveness, resilience, and integrity. At the core of Simmons's radical argument is her belief that the most critical freedom we can win for our daughters is the liberty not only to listen to their inner voice but also to act on it.
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In this volume for parents of middle-school daughters, the author of Odd Girl Out observes that girls today still pressure themselves to conform to the old, narrow paradigm of a nice, people-pleasing, rule-following, even-tempered, socially acceptable good girl, shunning the image of a rebellious, proud, socially outré, in-charge, outspoken bad girl. To dispel the curse of the good girl, and despite using those familiar, easily misconstrued labels as a touchstone, Girls Leadership Institute founder Simmons offers instructive tales out of school and workshops, revealing that flawed communication rituals and fear of confrontation contribute equally to a girl's belief that it is more important to be liked than to be an individual. In order to become a successful, well-adjusted "real girl," she needs to know how to say no to peers, ask for what she needs and express what she thinks. In the second half of this book, parents will find concrete strategies and tools-confidence-building exercises that emphasize emotional intelligence, self-evaluations, q&a's, scripts and lots of first-person stories-to help guide a girl's growth into a young woman who can respect and listen to her inner voice, say what she feels and thinks, embrace her limits and present an authentic self to the world. (Aug.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Rachel Simmons is the author of The New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, the first book to explore the phenomenon of bullying among girls. Simmons works internationally with girls, parents, and teachers to develop strategies to address bullying and to empower girls. A graduate of Vassar College in 1998, Simmons won a Rhodes scholarship and attended Oxford University, where she began studying female aggression. Simmons is the founding director of the Girls’ Leadership Institute, a summer program for middle and high school girls, and currently serves as a consultant to schools and organizations around the world.
Introduction 1
Part I A Map of the Good Girl World
1 The Myth of Girls' Emotional Intelligence 15
2 Is She Mad at me? Good Girl Communication Rituals 35
3 The Good Fight: Girls in Confrontation 53
4 All or Nothing: Girls and Feedback 75
5 Girl Meets World: Breaking the Good Girl Glass Ceiling 91
6 My Daughter, Myself 109
Part II Breaking the Curse
Introduction To Part II: From Good Girls to Real Girls 127
7 I Feel, Therefore I am: Building Emotional Intelligence 131
8 From Assuming To Knowing 161
9 Coming Clean: Telling and Hearing the Truth 169
10 Facing Criticism with Clear Heads 199
11 Check Your Good Girl at the Door 221
12 From Perfect Mothers to Real Mothers 237
The Greater Voice of Myself 249
Appendix 255
Acknowledgments 263
Notes 265
Index 269
Anonymous
Posted January 28, 2012
Unveiling and in depth portrait of a good girl. She really opened my eyes to the stress and survival tactics we good girls face in school, work and life. All good girls need to read this!
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Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I love Rachel Simmons. Her work is always insightful, relevant and down to earth. Her books are great. I was fortunate enough to hear the the author speak about her work. Meeting her made me a bigger fan!
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Overview
Read about Rachel Simmons work with girls in The New York Times.
Lessons in breaking the curse of the good girl-from the bestselling author of Odd Girl Out
Rachel Simmons argues that in idealizing the "good girl"-unerringly nice, polite, modest, and selfless- we teach girls to embrace a version of selfhood that curtails their power and potential.
Drawing on the exercises Simmons herself uses in her work with ...