What about girls, are there environmental pressures on girls as well? According to the book Girls on the Edge (2010; Sax), there are four major factors: sexual identity, the cyberbubble, obsessions and endocrine disruptors. The author introduces the book with the following observations and question: “Girls are cutting themselves with razors. Girls are convinced they're fat and starve themselves to prove it. Other girls are so anxious about grades they can't sleep at night—at eleven years of age. What's going on?”

The book’s arguments hinge on the gender differences between men and women. Sax observes: “Both the girls and the boys are disadvantaged, but they’re disadvantaged in different ways. More and more boys are developing an epicurean ability to enjoy themselves—to enjoy video games, pornography, food, and sleep—but they often don’t have the drive and motivation to succeed in the real world outside their bedroom. More and more of their sisters have that drive and motivation in abundance—but they don’t know how to relax, how to have fun and enjoy life. For many of these girls, each accomplishment is only a stepping-stone to the next goal.” 

However, this ambition can produce obsessive drives of achievement that can spill over into destructive concerns and behaviors. As our society continues to treat girls just as we treat boys, we are ignoring significant biopsychosocial differences between the two genders. Since the 1960’s there has been a rising trend in sexuality leading to the rise of younger and younger girls being sexualized. They begin branding themselves as the result of cultural pressures. Instead of diaries or journals of self-reflection, public journals such as blogs have taken over.

Public platforms cause girls to market their feelings in a way that is not necessarily true to their actual state. This type of expression can warp individual’s beliefs until their public personas become them. Obsessions about their bodies cause girls to believe that their body is the true representation of who they are internally. Sexual personas, clothing, language, and media that would be characteristic of 16-year-olds 30 years ago is now reaching down to age eleven for today’s girls. Consider this quote: “Girls know that if they want their social networking site to be popular, then that site needs to include lots of photos. Funny photos are good; sexy photos are better, as long as the photos aren’t skanky.” 

The solution? The author argues that girls need to have contact with responsible women, not just their mothers. We need more meetings like the past – “quilting circles, sewing circles, all-female Bible study groups, all-female book groups, Girl Scout troops.” We need to put more 13-years-olds in touch with 33-year-olds, effectively drawing them away from peer fixations and peer pressure. In other words, the author concludes: “Girls teaching same-age girls what it means to be a woman is a new phenomenon in human history.”