Skip to main content

GRLZ Take Over The Airwaves [yesmagazine.org]

 

Fed up with the way women and girls were portrayed in music on the radio, a group of teenage girls on a Boston soccer team brought an idea to their coach. They wanted to start their own radio station that portrayed women positively and respectfully, they said. Through the help of their coach, in 2003 the girls presented their idea to then-Mayor Thomas Menino, who supported it. Later that year, GRLZradio went on the air.

Today, GRLZradio produces a girls-run radio show with programming that includes music and discussions. The Boston-based program is one of eight run by St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children. Annually, more than 100 girls—primarily girls of color—between ages 12 and 19 complete the nonprofit’s multi-month training in radio hosting, engineering, producing, and blogging. It’s more than just a job-training program, though. By giving them control over the airwaves—and supporting them when they’re off the air—GRLZradio is helping to uplift teen girls.

“It’s important to show them that they have a voice and that they can say what’s on their mind,” said GRLZradio broadcast manager Danielle Johnson. She added that the girls who participate in the program are “submerged in a culture” that sexually objectifies them in music and television.

[For more on this story by Melissa Hellmann, go to http://www.yesmagazine.org/iss...he-airwaves-20171016]

Photo: La’Porsha Hickson, Olivia Williams, and Selena Rodriquez spend their summer training with GRLZradio to become DJs, audio engineers, producers, and writers. By Lena Mirisola

Add Comment

Comments (1)

Newest · Oldest · Popular

What a great way to turn around a situation. The lasting impact of the station must be phenomenal in the collective confidence, abilities, job experience, hireability, joy, and self-efficacy gained by these young women. Heck! I would love to be a part of a program like that. Maybe a GGRLZ program - for "golden-ish girls" who  could band together and talk remotely, if not in person. 

Post
Copyright © 2023, PACEsConnection. All rights reserved.
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×