Made By Girls: Why Stylist has handed the reins to a team of girls this week

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Made By Girls: Why Stylist has handed the reins to a team of girls this week

By Made By Girls

7 years ago

This week’s issue has been taken over by girls – and only girls. 

Thursday 11 October marks the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child – a day created to increase the awareness of the gender inequality faced by girls around the world.

To mark the occasion, a special Made By Girls issue of the Stylist print magazine will hit the streets in cities across the UK on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 October.

And the transformation will seep into digital, too: on Thursday 11 October, stylist.co.uk will be partnering with Blenheim High School and a team of girls. Which means that, yes, these girls will be pitching, editing and writing all of our digital content for the day.

Editor-in-chief Lisa Smosarski explains: “In the year that we unearth the incredible stories of women from history and those making waves in 2018 with our Visible Women initiative, we also wanted to pause to celebrate future women, too: today’s girls who will be running our world tomorrow.

“The UN’s International Day of the Girl Child seemed the perfect moment to do that. To stop and recognise the huge challenges, and also the amazing opportunities, that face girls today. We’ve handed over every element of this issue to girls aged between five and 17 – and will do the same with the stylist.co.uk website on Thursday.

“The result for me is one of strength, humour, intelligence and hope. If these are the women who will drive us into the future, then we are in incredibly safe hands. Let’s come together to protect and champion these girls, because in all of them we will find the true answer to equality.”

It’s not easy being a girl today  

Stylist.co.uk editor Kayleigh Dray adds: “At Stylist, we’re constantly looking at the issues that impact our audience of smart, feminist women – so it feels only natural that we do the same for today’s girls.

“On Thursday 11 October, we will be travelling to Blenheim High School – which sits near to Epsom racecourse, where Emily Davison died for the suffragette cause on 4 June 1913 – and handing over the stylist.co.uk keys to a team of brilliant young women. With their help, and their unique outlook on the world, we hope to create online content that forgoes the typical headlines and focuses on the stories that really speak to the Gen Z audience.”

So what do the girls involved with the initiative think? 

Grace, the editor of the Made By Girls issue, explains: “Being a girl in 2018 is difficult. There is a constant pressure to look and behave a certain way and this has a huge impact on girls’ confidence and on our overall happiness.

“Being a girl today is also three other words: scary, exciting and empowering. While these words seem to contradict each other, I think that they are all very accurate.

“I am growing up in a time where there seems to be a focus on empowering young women to be whatever they want to be, but there are still limitations that stop women from working their way to the top. Girls frequently see negative press surrounding female leaders, which further reinforces the idea that they should settle for less than their male counterparts.”

Grace continues: “Despite this, I still feel excited due to the rise and recognition of gender equality, especially throughout my generation. I’m excited that the young women around me are passionate about breaking gender stereotypes and that hopefully in the future I will see these women become successful individuals.

“Despite the pressures placed on us by society, young women today feel they deserve equal opportunities and are willing to work hard to achieve their goals, which makes me feel like I can do whatever I want to do.

“Being a girl in 2018 is difficult, but it is also amazing. It may be scary and empowering but, most importantly, it’s exciting. Read on for a look into the lives and minds of girls today.”

See more of Stylist’s Made By Girls content here.  

Image: Made By Girls

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