Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

At school we have a lunchtime girls group led by our fair councilors. It is a safe place for girls to come together and discuss the issues that can make life so tough in middle school. The councilor leads the discussion, but the topic is allowed to migrate as the girls choose. Recent topics have included body image, social pressures to look, think, act in a certain way, the joy and suffering of friendships, etc. At a recent meeting, the group discussed societal expectations of women, and someone brought up the idea of "sugar and spice and everything nice." One particularly wise girl observed "that's what cookies are made of!" The discussion that followed was nothing short of wonderful. It warmed my feminist heart, and it reminded me that not all kids are caught up in being vapid and silly. There is hope for the future.