GirlSpeak

What traits make girls great? What make them unforgettable? What draws us to their stories? junior Girls Megan and Josie provide a glimpse into one type of girl that inspires us - magical girls.

How old was Pocahontas? In Disney’s movie version, she’s a young unmarried woman - fully developed, falling in love with the adventurous hero John Smith, later marrying the wholesome John Rolfe. In her statue at Jamestown, she’s also depicted as a grown woman - perhaps youthful, but certainly past puberty. They both got it really, really wrong. Join Tiffany to explore Pocahontas's real story, as t...

Our new exhibit 'More than Pretty: Girls and Body Decoration' is now live! Here we explore the history of body decoration the Ancient world and how girls who lived during this period would decorate themselves from the neck up. 

Who do you think of when I say “First American Girls”? Is it the founding mothers like Abigail Adams and Martha Washington? They’re too old...and too far ahead in the American story. Is it the girls of Salem, Massachusetts, or the Pilgrim girls who came from England? Right age this time...but still a bit too late in the story. In fact, our story goes back thousands of years - to the first girls in...

Dr. Megan C. Rose talks with guests Kurebayashi and Rei about decora and gothic lolita fashion in Harajuku. From discussing the rise of these fashions as distinct Japanese social phenomena to building a cafe that appeals to decora and gothic lolita audiences, our guests provide unique insights into these subcultures and how girls participate within them. ----- Dr. Megan C. Rose is an Adjunct...

In today's episode, our junior girl Seav Lov recounts the fascinating stories of females goddesses present in Chinese mythology.

What do the Pendle Witch Trials, Wurzburg witch trials, and today's Democratic Republic of Congo have in common? Join us to explore the stories of girl witches...and how their circumstances reveal much about how we picture girlhood.

Tia Shah presents a special episode for International Day of the Girl 2020, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic and how it presents an opportunity to foster a "brave new world."

What role did Greta Garbo's girlhood in Stockholm play in her life and career? In exploring Greta's biography, Tiffany reveals the secret power of introverts.

Is there one way or a right way to learn? Education Adviser Hillary Rose explores the stories of young girls achieving advanced educations to answer our inquiry.

In the second of our First Girls mini-series, Sophie looks at more recent 'First Girls', up to the present day. From Helen Taft to Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, these girls' stories illustrate how the role has changed in recent decades and prompt questions about sexism, racism and the future of girls in politics. 

Sophie takes a look back into the history of girls in the White House. Discussing how the role of 'First Girl' developed, this episode spans from Nelly Parke Custis through to Alice and Ethel Roosevelt.

Why do museums need girlhood? We reflect on an earlier episode and hear answers from our team.

In response to the global COVID pandemic, we're sending our well wishes, top tips, and thoughts on how acting together - and supporting one another - will help us emerge into a brighter future. Tune in to hear contributions from our Junior Girls around the world.

Karen Robertson details her research into the mother-daughter pairs who advocated for women's suffrage. Identifying a common theme of "focusing on future generations" in suffrage work, Karen details the mothers who fought for their daughters' rights - even if it meant they would not live to see those dreams fulfilled. Karen is a museum professional in the United States, who has spent the past year...

Elizabeth Dillenburg interviews Lisa Lamson, whose work focuses on black girlhood. Specifically, Liss's doctoral dissertation explores Baltimore City’s educational system as a case study of the intersections of race, gender, class, and age in nineteenth century America.

Sage recaps her 2019 blog series, Incredible Girls, and talks about her Top 5.

What were the girls that Degas painted like? Who were they? How can we reinterpret these paintings to talk about girls and their world? Jennifer Lee, Curator of our ‘Impressionist Girls’ show, answers.

What was life like for the girls aboard the Mayflower? What did they witness on the First Thanksgiving? Tiffany deep dives into the evidence to find out.

Ashley explores one of our earliest exhibitions and discusses what it means for girls who are canonized as saints. 

Tiffany recounts her Top 5 works from one of our first exhibits, “Time and Space,” and how these works reveal multiple narratives of girlhood - from Russian serfdom and Roman daily life to controversies with the #MeToo movement and criticism of how we treat girls today. For images, please visit http://www.girlmuseum.org/projects/across-time-and-space

Tia Shah explores what infographic statistics can tell us about female entrepreneurship, what changes we have seen, and what changes we might see in the future. She also provides suggestions on what governments, business, existing entrepreneurs, the venture capital industry, and the media can do to better support future girl entrepreneurs.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy and being a female one is even harder. Historically and in the current day, female entrepreneurs face many challenges to starting and sustaining businesses. Not only do female entrepreneurs have to face inequality, limited access to education, familial pressure, sexism and more in many patriarchal societies– but women also have to tackle funding biases’, a lack of...

Interview with Florence Schechter, science communicator and founder of The Vagina Museum. Here,  Head of Contemporary Art Scarlett Evans speaks with Florence about the museum's mission to empower and educate people about one of the most controversial parts of the body. 

We’re feeling so inspired by the slew of girl activists in the news lately, that we’ve decided to round them up! We discuss some of our favorites and the surprising insights we’re learning about girl activism along the way.