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In this section:

Common misconceptions about labelling young women

The majority of young girls/women feel uncomfortable with themselves because of unrealistic and confining expectations of and portrayal of women in society.

Consistent repetitive, harmful actions; expectations; images; and labels create learned helplessness among young women.

Unhealthy thoughts and general feelings from girls:

• dissatisfied
• uncomfortable
• irritated
• disgusted
• lonely
• overwhelmed
• confused
• exhausted
• angry

Labelling you hear from service providers and others:

• weak
• unfit
• crazy
• spoiled
• normal
• manic depressive
• pathetic/sad
• depressed
• psychotic

Women are not passive. Women are not weak. Women are not irrational.

To service providers

There are different types of labels which are used to portray young women. When treating a young woman for depression, most people tend to want to sway young girls away from labels from the media, to show them the girls/women shouldn’t be labelled as such. But sometimes labels that we are given by people who try to categorize our depression, such as doctors, teachers, parents, are just as bad.