Creative Representation of My Girltopia

As part of envisioning my girltopia, I found it helpful to ponder through art and I would like to share this project here in hopes that it will inspire others to explore their ideal world through art. This particular piece of artwork it the result. For me this was an exercise in making thoughts and emotions appear on paper. It was an exercise of reaching into the past and forward into the future. The girl stands on the edge of a balcony, looking out over a lake, towards the mountain beyond. She has taken the time to pause in her journey, looking towards her goal and contemplating the value of it. Every piece is meant to represent a hope for girls in my vision of girltopia. I chose a cut paper medium because I truly feel that the ideal world for girls is not just one picture, but truly the combined and layered ideas created by the ingenuity of the human race. I placed her in the mountains because that is the place where I have come closest to seeing a real girltopia. She is in nature and yet is not truly a part of it. She is accepted into this landscape and, in turn, accepts the world around her. This is not the end of the journey - girltopia - it is merely the true beginning of a lasting and meaningful shift in prejudice that moves us one step closer to a world of shared ideas, valued relationships, and mutual respect.

What is Ideal?

Ideal originally meant "existing in idea." Its sense of perfection was first applied in the 15th century. Particularly interesting is the definition of idealism as the belief that: "reality is made up of only ideas." Used as an adjective, it means "in the best conceivable situation." The definitions are endless. (For more definitions, click here) But to me, ideal is a place. A place of simple ideas, a place where ideas can be heard, a place where issues gain enough credence to be addressed effectively. A place that could make a difference in the lives of many. 

It is a place where everyone can feel safe. 

 “Women's safety is a social issue, not a geographic one”
- Dr Sheba Rakesh, founder of the women's empowerment organization, Pankh 

So many women around the world today are not safe in their homes. They are caught in war zones, are victims of domestic abuse, and are forced into early marriage. If every girl around the world could be certain that she was safe, the world would be a much better place.  

It is a place where everyone is guaranteed three solid meals a day. 

"It was a matter of life and death. I couldn't wait any longer, not while my children were starving." - Alem (Eritrea) 
To read more of Alem's story, click here.

Women all around the world struggle to feed themselves every day. This is unacceptable. If every woman could be certain that she would be able to obtain food  for herself and her family, women around the world would be able to turn their attention and ingenuity to solving the problems that exist in the world today.

It is a place where everyone has the opportunity to choose their own future. 

"Peace, please: ‘I didn’t raise my boy to kill or be killed.’ " 

- Zahra Bibi, Peace Activist in Pakistan (learn more here).

Women all around the world are not able to make their own choices. They cannot choose their own future due to a lack of education or political freedom. This may seem small, but by being unable to choose their future, their creativity and innovation go without use. They are forced to remain where others have told them to be, doing what others have told them to do. In this century, we need women who can help us solve the world's problems. Women who can innovate, plan, and create. And this starts with letting them choose their own path. 

It is a place where everyone has a voice - where people will listen. 

An FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] consultation in 1984 defined communication for development as "a social process, designed to seek a common understanding among all the participants of a development initiative, creating a basis for concerted action."
To learn more about their current efforts to promote women's communication click here. 

Listening to each other is vital. Women all around the world do not have a voice in their communities, do not have an ability to convey their suffering or their ideas. In a world where women are silenced, their ideas and insights are not heard, but, more importantly, their issues are often ignored. Women deserve a voice and giving them that voice is an opportunity not only for them, but for a world in need of their ideas.

It is a place where everyone matters and is accepted for who they are.

"To inspire and engage women to choose language that honors and celebrates themselves and each other. By doing so, women will make a profound and positive impact on themselves, each other, their families, their workplace, their communities and the world."
- The mission of Honoring Women Worldwide. To see all of their amazing projects, click here.

It is essential that women are able to appreciate each other and their own accomplishments. A woman's accomplishments deserve to be revered as much as a man's and should not mean less because of her gender. In a world where accomplishments, effort, and progress are appreciated, each action towards a positive change becomes more connected and more welcome.

It is a place where every mistake is simply an opportunity to grow.

"It's common knowledge that people can learn as much from their mistakes as anything. And yet traditional teaching methods often deny students the chance to learn from their mistakes by preventing them from making mistakes."
- David Ginsburg on the importance of mistakes in the learning process. Learn more here.

This is an issue that is slightly more broad in its focus, as it could (and should) be applied to a larger group than just the young women of the world. Mistakes are vital to success, and yet the modern world portrays mistakes as the totally undesirable measure of failure. But mistakes are also a measure of how close one is to success. In a world that values mistakes, there's no telling what we might be able to accomplish. 

Essentially, it is a place to gain the courage, confidence, and character needed to envision a better world. And it's time that existed in more than "idea." 

What is a Visionary?

The dictionary defines visionary as "one with exceptional foresight and imagination." 

The Center for Visionary Leadership describes visionaries as:

"The builders of a new dawn, working with imagination, insight, and boldness. They present a challenge that calls forth the best in people and brings them together around a shared sense of purpose. They work with the power of intentionality and alignment with a higher purpose. Their eyes are on the horizon, not just on the near at hand. They are social innovators and change agents, seeing the big picture and thinking strategically.

     There is a profound interconnectedness between the leader and the whole, and true visionary leaders serve the good of the whole. They recognize that there is some truth on both sides of most polarized issues in our society today. They search for solutions that transcend the usual adversarial approaches and address the causal level of problems. They find a higher synthesis of the best of both sides of an issue and address the systemic root causes of problems to create real breakthroughs." 

When I think about visionaries I automatically think of those famous individuals that are all over the history books for changing the world. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, etc. The truth is that while these people are visionaries,  they are not the only visionaries. One does not need to be famous in order to be a visionary. One simply needs to have the imagination and focus to see the world as a different place. Visionaries are those who have their own moral code and aspirations, and yet understand that nothing in this world happens by itself. They share their ideas with others and have the courage, foresight, and empathy to insure that they are making the world a better place for the whole.  Visionaries are ordinary people that have taken the time to look around them and see how the world really is. They have decided to live their lives in a manner that encourages a future that is closer to the world that they imagine. 

When I look at what a visionary is, I can begin to see that this is not an impossible goal to attain. It is something that is already a part of who I am and how I think. I just need to apply that part of myself more often. It gives me courage and renews my determination to take a look at the people who are changing the world today and realize that I could do that too, if I only took the time to do it. I think it is important for all those who are starting their own journeys toward bettering the world to take time and appreciate just how close they already are. 

For more detail and examples click here to see a list of 50 visionaries who are changing the world today and learn about what they are doing to make the world a better place. 

A Logical Place to Begin...

The best way to start this journey is, I suppose, to look at the way the world around me currently is and how girls currently act with regards to each other, the stresses of daily life, and the world.

In my immediate world, I see many places where girls interact with each other. Often, these environments are casual and girls seem to act without undue restraint. When a group of girls gets together, there is an initial awkwardness until the members of the group know one another. After this awkward phase is past, however,  girls seem more open to friendships and discussions. It has been my experience in large groups that girls who are close friends tend to stick together, ignoring the fact that they are part of a group. When boys are around, the interactions change slightly. I have found it interesting that when boys and girls work together on a project, the interaction is not all that different, but the work tends to be more focused, although it usually tends to a larger proportion of arguments.

When I broaden my view to girls around the world, I find myself wishing for a prettier picture. Across the world women are denied rights that men in their communities are automatically granted. They are controlled by the stereotypes that society has placed upon them. Many do not know that they could hope for more. So, my first wish for women around the world is that they be given the opportunity to envision their own life. If women could look at what their life is and be able to say that they want something different, that would be a major step towards change. Women's rights organizations can do a lot, but until the women are ready to take the step forward and help themselves, little can be done. Of course, wishing is not enough to create a positive change in our world, seeing that there is a problem does not mean that it is fixed. Therefore, my next wish for women around the world is that they have the power to change the circumstances of their lives. Ideally, this power would come from their own communities. This way social change could be brought about on a more comprehensive scale - not just at the rate one organization can promote change.

It goes without saying that such a change would be exceedingly difficult to create. The answer, I believe, lies in each  and every individual, in each and every community. Change may be gradual and it may take longer than anyone hopes, but it is possible. One community at a time, one girl at a time, we can make a difference. Around the world there are millions of girls calling out in need. We can't help every single girl, but maybe, just maybe we can help a few. We can help the girls in our life find their own courage to choose their lives. We can help support those organizations that are so diligently trying to bring this message to the attention of girls worldwide.

In a perfect world, girls would be free to envision their own perfect world. They would no longer be bound by stereotypes or financial and traditional barriers. They would be able to see their world and have the courage to change it for the better.

What is Utopia and What Does it Mean for This Journey?

The idea of utopia was first introduced by the Renaissance author Sir Thomas More in his novel Utopia. The novel centers around a "perfect world" in which social, political, and financial systems were all "perfect." (To read more about More's Utopia, click here). After the idea of  utopia was introduced, it took over 100 years for the topic to return to the focus of the literary community. (Other novels exploring the idea of utopia include Mary Cavendish's A New World: The Blazing World and Sheri S. Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country) On the course of this journey, it is necessary to look to these interpretations of the term utopia in order to pursue a unique vision of what a perfect world would look like to each individual girl worldwide.

As we begin this journey, it occurs to me to consider some of the major issues facing women today and how the world might be different if a GIRLtopia could actually be achieved.

One of the most prevalent issues facing women worldwide today is the significant proportion of  women worldwide who cannot read or write. The futures of such women are limited far beyond where they should be. A woman who cannot read or write will likely have more difficulty providing for her children throughout their lives, leading to a negative cycle of illiteracy. When women can't earn enough to support their children, the family may go hungry. Children will likely be denied opportunities for education and young girls may be forced into prostitution to support the family.

All too often, we look at a problem and see only the issue at hand, but in reality, almost every "women's issue" in the world today is tied to many other worldwide issues. Just because it is predominantly girls who are not getting the opportunity to attend primary school does not mean that this is not a problem for all children worldwide. Illiteracy itself is connected to many other issues, health related and political alike. Illiteracy often leads to prostitution or unsafe sex which allows for the spread of AIDS, especially across sub- Saharan Africa. It can also lead to domestic abuse and lack of women's rights, especially in countries like India where males have traditionally held all the power. An inability to read also creates problems with democracy and a people's ability to be informed about their government.

I would submit that issues that are considered "women's issues" are issues that should be confronted and dealt with by humanity as a whole. Consequently, a GIRLtopia would be not only a step forward for women's rights but also a step forwards for human rights. While not every vision of GIRLtopia will be the same, the world could definitely benefit from considering the issues that face women today.