As a kid growing up, there are a lot of influences around you, and these things really do affect you. I was lucky enough to have two older sisters who passed down to me a love of "Gilmore Girls" and they would sit me down on the couch next to them to watch it. This meant that I got to grow up knowing that it’s cool to read and to be excited about your education, thanks to one Rory Gilmore. I also got to learn that life is full of adversity, and it’s up to you to have the strength to keep going and to make the world better for those around you, that I got from Lorelai Gilmore. These are just two of the many things that "Gilmore Girls" taught me. It was more than just a joy to watch, it was something that my sisters and I had in common. I had strong female role models around me whether they were on the screen or on the couch next to me. That’s something that I never want to take for granted.
It’s really important that girls grow up knowing their worth, and believing in it. That’s something that’s taught from a parent, a sibling, a friend, and even the media that surrounds you. Think about the shows you watched while you were growing up. Whether you watched "Spongebob Squarepants" or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," you are going to have memories attached to them. We are so impressionable while we are growing up because we are just looking for a hand to hold and someone to teach us what we are supposed to do in this life. The media and television in particular has become such a big part of our lives, that we need to be wary about the messages we are taking from it and the messages that the people around us are taking away.
When I was growing up there weren’t a lot of family television series that had such strong female characters as "Gilmore Girls" did. It’s important for girls to see powerful women because if you don’t show them that women like that exist, these girls will grow up thinking they can't be strong or determined or successful. In this age, it has become a part of a parent’s job to be mindful of what their children are exposed to, because those are the memories and the ideas that these kids are going to latch onto. Every girl should grow up believing that she can do great things and this is a lesson that someone or something has to teach them. I am lucky enough to have an incredibly supportive family, so "Gilmore Girls" was a source of joy, and not the only source of education on female empowerment. But as such an early influence, this show was the first glimpse I got at what feminism was.
I saw young girls and strong women in this show who were career-driven, loved school, and believed that they were worth something. The men in this show didn’t see the women as less than them and the Gilmores were idolized in the town of Stars Hollow. That’s a sight that a kid really needs to see. I needed to see that things aren’t always going to easy, but if you work hard you can make it through, even with some jokes in there. I think that growing up Gilmore means to be raised to be empowered and to be excited and happy about what life will throw at you. That's something that every girl should have a shot at learning.
