TOW #18 - "Why Do We Teach Girls That It’s Cute to Be Scared?"

     As someone who read the Divergent series in middle school, articles about fear interest me pretty well, because everyone has some type of fear, and there are countless quotes about courage or fighting those fears. The article Why Do We Teach Girls That It’s Cute to Be Scared? by Caroline Paul written for the New York Times talks about fear under the light of gender. By laying her personal experiences are a brave female that contrasts with stereotypical girls and adding specific research, Paul asserts that girls should be raised and encouraged like their male counterparts to reach their potential of being just as courageous as their male counterparts.
     Paul starts off her essay with her personal experience as a female firefighter to break off the stereotypical image of easily-scared girls and demonstrate that someone raised to take risks have the power to fight their fears. She informs the readers of her adventures of having "pulled a bloated body from the bay, performed CPR on a baby and crawled down countless smoky hallways" (Paul 1). She gives credit to her mom, who had told Paul, “I had been so discouraged from having adventures, and I wanted you to have a more exciting childhood” (12). Although these are daunting tasks that not everyone might be willing to perform, she proudly lists them as her accomplishment and gives the readers a specific example of someone who was able to break the mold of a typical, fearful girl. She then expands it to a more scientific, reputable source to prove her examples true and factual.
     In addition to providing personal anecdotes, Paul adds scientific researches to establish logos and to prove that she isn't the only female capable of fighting fears and not being easily scared of objects or situations. She cites a study based around a playground fire pole, "published in The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology and showed that parents cautioned their daughters about the dangers of the fire pole significantly more than they did their sons and were much more likely to assist them" (10). This shows that she's not an outlier, and that many girls, when given the opportunity, can be just as brave as she is.
     When parents see that precious girl running around, it is easy for them to worry about her safety. However, Paul claims through her personal anecdotes and the studies that she cites that risk-taking, injury, and the resilience to work through their failure is an important process to prepare for the real world, and boys and girls should equally be encouraged to fight their fears so that they can reach whatever possibility ahead of them.