I was at a local coffee shop, waiting on my coffee, and standing next to a mother and daughter. I estimated the girl’s age at about 11.
I noticed her mainly because of her flamboyant clothing choices. She was wearing a hoodie/poncho combination thing. With a little button. She had on flipflops with socks.
Not just any socks. Purple striped toe socks. Except they were sort of toelesssocks, similar to fingerless gloves.
I thought “Ha. I like those socks” and, then, “I should tell her that”. So I glanced over and said with a smile, “I like your socks”. She beamed back and said, “Thank you.”
I mean BEAMED. In a matter of seconds, I saw across her face pride and joy. It was obvious that she was at an age where she was experimenting with clothing as an expression of her personality. Also, she was probably a bit quirky. My simple comment validated her decision.
The next thing I thought was “I wish I had a mix tape to give her”. Which translates to “I wish I had a mix CD of pro-woman, feminist, girl-positive music to give her. To share with a fellow eccentric.”
Recently I read a story about a girl who, in the early 90s, was on public transit, and a stranger handed her a mix tape. The tape turned out to be a bunch of Riot Grrrl bands. Oddly enough, the two ran into each other a couple years later, and when questions about why she had passed along the tape, the stranger said simply, “I don’t know, you just looked like a Riot Grrrl”.
How cool would it be if there were CDs with pro-girl messages to pass along to girls, especially at those critical ages where they’re developing self-esteem and learning to interact with the adult world? What if those CDs didn’t just have awesome music, but if they included liner notes with a statement encouraging those girls to continue being true to themselves? Heck, what if it was actually a mini ‘zine (in Riot Grrrl spirit), with the CD as a sort of companion EP? What if these pro-woman ideas weren’t just always given to girls, but sometimes fell into the hands of boys?
It wouldn’t just be cool. It would be fantastic. Maybe even radical.
That’s what the Striped Socks Project is setting out to do.
The ‘zines will be produced periodically, and available for download here. CDs will not be available due to copyright laws. (If we receive submissions from bands/artists who wish to have their music included and available, those may become available.)
The Striped Socks Project is always accepting submissions at: stripedsocksproject (at) gmail (dot) com or via the ASK page
Submissions can be writing (articles, poems, etc.) or artwork.
