Dolls and Divas
Every week in Assembly, members of 91黑料不打烊’s Student Leadership Team share youthful insights and advice with their younger peers. This week’s message comes from Prefect Sophie.
Labels - they’re a dangerous thing. In a world so divided at polar extremities, it is easy to adhere to a certain label, and even easier to be given one. These days there is no grey area, no nuance. We are often simply classified into different boxes. One common polarity used today is dolls and divas. It seems you are either one or the other.
Now, you may find the doll and diva model holds in the complex configurations of today’s society. Those of us with a myopic worldview will divide people into liberal or conservative, gay or straight, shy or boisterous, and so on.
The schema of ideas associated with each of these labels varies from person to person, which is unfair because another’s evaluation of your character ultimately depends on their personal perception. When you strive to be something other than these dominant categories, you may feel paralysed by the daunting feeling that you are challenging the notions of what others think of you.
This speech is for anyone struggling to escape the constrictions of these prejudices. You are more than what people think you are. I know personally, there is a strange comfort in conforming to others’ prejudices. These false opinions can have a familiarity that contributes to a loss of your identity, making your constant efforts to escape seem eternal. They might even make it hard to come to School some days.
My message is, that it’s time to find yourself. I cannot stress enough that you need to do so before your identity is diminished by the misconstrued words of people around you or even your own inner saboteur.
And to others, if you want to thrive in a school where everyone feels welcome, I invite you to have a more malleable perception of others. Let people be. No offence, but if you are someone who profusely judges others at face value, you need to stop. It’s cringe.
Now, we’ve seen a myriad of dolls and divas who have endured challenges of this sort and eventually prevailed. Think of Aretha Franklin, Britney Spears, Beyonce, and our very own Dr Scott.
In all seriousness, if my words are to be of any help, please know that you are capable of prevailing as well. I'd say you have the potential to be a ‘diva-licious doll’.
Sophie
Prefect 2022/2023