The Curse of the Good Girl

In Rachel Simmons' book The Curse of the Good Girl, she explores the mounting pressure and stress put upon teenage girls to be perfect, or a "good girl". She claims that girls are taught not to, and don't know how to, recognize and display intense and/or negative emotions. The treacherous social waters that many girls live in every day are also a part of the problem, as they send false messages to girls and are also harder to navigate with the "curse of the good girl" weighing down.

Throughout the book, Simmons explains that when girls are taught to be "good girls", they lose many important skills that can be applied in the workplace and in relationships when the girls grow up. Because unfair expectations are placed upon them, girls don't know how to appropriately deal with conflict, and (unknowingly) create a drama out of a misunderstanding, and take criticisms with a hardened ear.

We are also introduced to several other problems that the curse of the good girl creates. After we fully understand what this "curse" is and what it is doing to preteen and teen girls, Simmons explains what parents can do to break this curse. She goes over what it takes to raise a healthy, independent, free-thinking young woman.

As a teenage girl myself, I was a bit wary when I first cracked open The Curse of the Good Girl. I was afraid it would highlight girls in a stereotypical, negative light. And while many of Simmons's observations are indeed negative, it is because the negativity of the "curse" is the purpose of the book, and her points are well researched, topical, and accurate.

The Curse of the Good Girl is specifically written to parents, and I would recommend it to all parents with a preteen or teen daughter. However, I also think it would it be exceedingly interesting if Simmons were to write a shorter book directed to teen girls-- we could see how we could break the curse upon ourselves.

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