For my Unit 2 Project, I’ve decided to stick with how the word “girl” (previously spelled “gyrl”) has had a complete shift in meaning since its origination somewhere around the 13 century. In its original context, the word referred to a young child, regardless of gender. Then the definition shifted as literature began to refer to married couples as “husband and gyrl”. Yet today “girl” not only refers to only a female child, but it is also considered a word with demeaning intentions as women are constantly referred to as “girl” in their everyday lives, deeming them immature and childlike. So then why are there so many examples of “girls” in our everyday lives? There are so many songs, TV shows, and movies that include the word “girls”, even when the characters seem like they would be considered “women”. The re-ownership and attempt to redefine the word “girl” into the concept of “girl power” is something that a lot of powerful feminists are striving to accomplish. Basically, I want to first look at the original history of the word girl, how it changed to mean a female child, and how it’s modern applications are yet again redefining the word.
Source #1: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/history-of-the-word-girl_n_57bb6915e4b0b51733a53195 (This source provided me with a lot of my inspiration for this topic and considers not only the history of the word girl but its dainty connotation and how pop culture and modern feminists are trying to redefine the word yet again. It also mentions important information about how young women are uncomfortable using the word “woman” without really knowing why.)
Source #2: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/girl (This source just provides some ways that the word girl is used today and exemplifies how it can be used in a lot of different contexts.)
Source #3: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/grammar-vocabulary/story/word-girl-used-for-both-boys-and-girls-gender-neutral-word-origin-1645482-2020-02-11 (This source is where I learned the original literary uses of the word “gyrl” and when it began to refer to a female.”)
Source #4: https://historyofwomen.org/ (This source provided me with a lot of the historical context in England that I can use to further understand how the perception of women changed from the 1300s to the 1600s to get a better understanding of why the word “girl” needed to change.)
Source #5: https://qz.com/1078044/girl-power-girly-girl-the-origins-of-the-word-girl/ (This source is less formal but still provides interesting information of the etymology of the word and its German roots. It also mentions the fact that while we are used to words changing meanings as time goes on, changing a word’s entire gender is quite uncommon.)
This is so powerful. I love this topic. It’s different and makes the reader or audience think of how the word girl has changed so much throughout centuries. Thank You for talking about this.
I love this idea because it focuses in on something so small like a single word but that single word has such a powerful history and carries a lot of weighty implications. You seem to really have an idea of what you want to use each source for and are off to a great start. If anything, you might want to find a source or two about the women’s movement in the US if it has any connection to your topic.
I am really looking forward to your paradigm shift project. I absolutely love your idea and I think it’s going to be such an amazing thing to research. I definitely think, if it’s okay, you could do interviews with women of different ages and see how they view the word girl.