A summary of “The Supergirl Dilemma: Girls Grapple With the Mounting Pressure of Expectations” is available from Girls Inc.
The pressure to please everyone and look pretty is a burden to most girls in the United States, concludes a report done by Girls Inc., a New York City-based nonprofit organization that sponsors educational programs for girls, especially those at-risk of failing in school.
The report—which surveyed 1,059 girls and 1,006 boys in grades 3-12, as well as 1,005 adults—found that 74 percent of girls said girls are under pressure to please everyone, and 80 percent of girls and boys said girls are “supposed to be kind and caring.”