Students from Westcliff High School for Girls shared their stories on The One Show, highlighting the impact of Essex accents on their identities.
Westcliff: On Tuesday night, The One Show aired a segment about the Essex accent, sparked by some new research. It was pretty interesting!
Jeff Brazier, the TV presenter, visited Westcliff High School for Girls to chat about how having an Essex accent affects young women. It’s a big deal, especially with all the stereotypes floating around.
A study from Essex University found that many teenage girls in the area feel pressured to change how they speak because of these negative views. Can you believe that?
Dr. Tara McAllister-Viel led the study, using spoken word poetry to explore how girls from Southend feel about their accents. It’s now part of an audio exhibition at Clifftown Theatre, which is all about celebrating different voices and accents in Essex.
But the study also showed that these girls often feel undervalued and unheard. It’s sad, really. The show highlighted a group of girls who took part in workshops to express their experiences growing up in Essex.
They even got to write and perform their own poems in front of their classmates. How cool is that? It really helped them reflect on their identities.
Dr. McAllister-Viel pointed out that these girls are at a crucial stage in their lives, trying to figure out who they are. But they feel like no one takes them seriously.
She mentioned that the stereotype of an “Essex girl” being unintelligent and uncreative doesn’t represent them at all. It’s frustrating for them.
But by the end of the program, after sharing their poems, the girls felt a sense of pride in their identity. One student said it was inspiring and felt like her voice was being heard.
Another girl who performed her poem shared that the experience helped her grow and not worry about what others think. The support from her peers was amazing.
Jeff Brazier wrapped up the segment by calling these young women “incredibly inspiring.” He reminded everyone that we should be proud of our voices because they’re the only ones we have.
