ABOUT THE PROGRAM

          During the workshop on menstruation,  girls learn about their own physiology and the language around it, without the need for embarrassment.  They learn about what actually happens to their bodies during their periods, so that it is not a mystery to them, allowing them to experience a sense of self-esteem and pride around this monthly event.  They also learn about the menstrual history of women, about some of the taboos which are alive today, and they are given the opportunity to ask questions which are in their hearts, in an environment which honors and supports them.

          Rite of passage ceremonies are also available for individuals or groups of girls.

CHANGING THE CULTURAL MODELS

          We live in a world today where female images all around the world are unnatural, from the magazines to the movies, media ads, as well as the verbal onslaught of what defines women, found all  around us in everyday conversations. All of the attention which is given to the female body, at this time in our history serves to denigrate and disempower women. Our daughters and other young women are being programmed, literally, to believe that these images are the way women are supposed to look and behave. They serve as role models, as frightening as that may be to realize. As long as there is no other way to see themselves as women, these models will serve to create their belief systems about being female. 

          Power-Full girls is a workshop for adolescent girls which seeks to replace all of these negative models with real ones, ones which are representative of who each individual girl actually is, and in a way which honors her as she grows fully into her unique self.

THE BODY AS A METAPHOR FOR CONFIDENCE

          Simone DeBeauvoir said "To lose confidence in one's body is to lose confidence in oneself." With that in mind, it's no wonder that our daughters doubt themselves, especially during adolescence, the time of their lives involving the greatest amount of physical change. Power-Full girls works with girls to teach them the power inherent in their biology as females. They learn how to love themselves from the inside out, and how to feel good in their own skin.

          One of the programs in Power-Full girls is a monthly workshop which meets for 3 hours and is a time where issues relevant to their lives as adolescent girls are discussed in depth. Topics range from fashion to school to politics concerning women and girls around the world. This workshop provides a forum for the girls to think out loud, to share, and to explore all the possibilities which are alive inside them, and to discover that ALL things are possible if they believe in themselves and are supported by their families and friends.

MENARCHE AS A RITE OF PASSAGE

          Menarche, or a girl's first menstrual period, is a particular focus of  the Power-Full Girls workshops.  This no longer honored or celebrated rite of passage truly marks a girl's emergence into womanhood, and, in our culture, signals a rapid decline in her self-expression and sense of self-worth, due to all of the negative messages telling her that menstruation is painful, dirty, and an undesirable experience.  How then can she feel good about becoming a woman, when the very thing that marks and defines us as women is treated with disrespect all around us?

 

SOME TOPICS COVERED IN THE PROGRAM