Who doesn’t absolutely adore Jacqueline Wilson? Tracy Beaker, Bad Girls and Love Lessons got us through some pretty serious shit back when we were 11, so we’re pretty much obliged to say that whatever Jacqueline says goes, so when the former Children’s Laureate has something to say about girls today we’re definitely going to listen.
She quite worried about what girls are growing up with today and warned that they’re under too much pressure to look ‘gorgeous and thin’ and are letting social media take over their lives. She said:
‘I’m rather glad I’m not a teenage girl now, because I do think there are so many pressures.
‘Not only the pressure to look gorgeous and thin, but also you’re expected to be bright and manage all sorts of things. It’s quite hard if you just want to plod along in your own world and do things your own way.’
Dame Jacqueline, who has sold over 35 million books, thinks that the pressure to be perfect is stunting young girls’ ability to develop into individuals and thinks they should look at Tracy Beaker, one of her most famous characters, for inspiration.
‘When they become teenagers, social networking takes over most girls completely. I think Tracy would have had none of this. Tracy would text and she would like some of the modern computer games.
‘But she’s such a determined and dominant girl that I can’t see her being tempted into any kind of sexting or whatever. I just think she would be irritated by the whole idea. I think [the girls I’ve written about] are quite good examples for girls today. I cannot see Tracy spending hours getting her hair straight or plucking her eyebrows. She’d just say this is me, accept me for the way I am. And good for her. It’s one aspect of her character that kids today could definitely learn from.’
When she was asked what she hoped that girls could learn from her book, she said: ‘To have spirit and determination. Those are two things that everybody needs, especially young girls.’
Sounds good to us, bravo Jacqueline!
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Picture: Rex
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.