Girlhood, the blog-oriented website created by seniors Sofia Rundle and Mia Sugimoto, has reached a large audience of teenage girls looking for someone to talk to. This international success provides girls around the world with a platform to talk to other girls about school, relationships, self-image, and so much more. They accept volunteers to help respond to the girls in need of a chat session with their team of over 150 members.
Girlhood is a safe space for girls who do not have a big sister, mom, or best friend to turn to when they need support. They can anonymously ask questions and bloggers on the team can write about their personal experiences and share their stories.
“Girlhood has helped me feel more comfortable with my mind and body, I can freely ask questions without feeling ashamed and embarrassed,” sophomore Grace Sorensen said. “It has been a pivotal point in my year.”
The idea of this website came to Sugimoto after watching the newly released Barbie movie.
“She was inspired by the sense of community the movie elicited, so she wanted to create a website or blog that encapsulated that,” Rundle said.
The two promote their website on social media platforms. Girlhood has touched many girls, with over 77,000 followers on TikTok and almost 12,000 followers on Instagram.
Dealing with something so big and gaining recognition rapidly can be scary at first for two girls in high school. When the website first started to grow in popularity, Rundle felt a little overwhelmed.
“It was super daunting at first, especially because we had so many more advice submissions and not enough volunteers, but over time we made the necessary adaptations to ensure every girl got the advice they needed,” Rundle said.
Girlhood was created to help girls realize that they belong and are heard by others. Rundle and Sugimoto both want to spread positivity and impact the lives of others with their determination to make girls feel comfortable with themselves.
“Feminism is so important for women and it’s so important for young girls to be able to reach out to each other and support each other and I think Girlhood is amazing for that,” said sophomore Ellie Neill.
They both plan to make clubs that follow and support Girlhood at their universities. They also want to start making merchandise to sell, donating some of the earnings to women’s charities every month.
The message that Rundle wishes to convey to young girls across the globe is “not to take things too seriously. Everything you’re dealing with or struggling to overcome now will become a lesson learned later.”
