autoethnography

The Girl Guides are a charity for females in the United Kingdom, which are devoted to giving young girls and women alike a chance to build treasured relationships, attain valuable life skills and contribute positively to the communities in which they are surrounded by. The Girl Guides seek to integrate women of all backgrounds and circumstances, including those of various faiths and women with disabilities. Further, the Girl Guides seek and encourage membership from those belonging to hard-to-reach communities.

As a member of the girl guides, I felt that I was given a voice, and was encouraged to speak out about issues that may affect myself, or those around me. The Girl Guides further educated me about sensitive issues including violence against women. As a Girl Guide, I was encouraged to speak openly and voice my opinion surrounding important issues of all natures.

As a member of the Girl Guides I took part in a wide range of activities including regular meetings, camps, community action projects, sporting adventures and had the opportunity to travel. Further, I have the opportunity to work for honorable Guide badges, as well as explore diversity, relationship skills, global awareness, healthy living and the discovery of new challenges and experiences. Being a Girl Guide allowed me to feel a valued contributor to a hard working group, I also felt as though I was contributing positively to my community. I was given the opportunity to partake in exciting activities and was able to form strong bonds and friendships with the people that I was often surrounded by. I also felt that I was able to encourage others around me to maintain their faith in our community and the goals we had set, as they often encouraged myself.

For Durkheim (1997), groups such as this advocate social solidarity, whereby social cohesion and integration stem from the homogeneity of those belonging to the Girl Guides. Durkheim (1997) suggests that in society, people gain a sense of interconnectedness upon partaking in similar activities and possessing similar beliefs, known as social cohesion. Thus, for Durkheim (1997), social cohesion is achieved when a group or community is in a state of unity whilst working towards goals which satisfy the needs of each member. McQuail (1994) suggests that communities and groups such as the Girl Guides are often viewed positively by the media, with the word "community" primarily holding positive connotations. The media often advocates the charitable nature of the Girl Guides, the positive contributions they pay to their community and the social cohesion and bond held of said group.

            In relation to this, being a member of the girl guides enables me to feel part of a group, since we all partake in the same activities, wear the same uniform and are provided with the opportunity to share our thoughts and feelings with those around us. 

            Further, the Girl Guides rejects the ideas of Marx et al (1992); though Marx et al (1992) acknowledge the theory of social cohesion, he suggests that it is the dominant ideology that is transmitted through forces such as the media, through ideological control. However, as previously stated, The Girl Guides seek to integrate women of all backgrounds and circumstances, including those of various faiths and women with disabilities. The Girl Guides also seek and encourage membership from those belonging to hard-to-reach communities. Being a Girl Guide also allows for freedom of speech, with young girls and women alike receiving encouragement to speak openly and willingly about their beliefs and opinions. This allowed me to feel a sense of interconnectedness with the rest of my community, as I live in an area that is proudly diverse. 

             Autoethnography appears to a dominant feature throughout many online blogs. When conducting social research, I believe that autoethnography is useful since it allows for the writer to open up about their own thoughts and feelings surrounding the topic in which they are wishing to research; this enables a sense of personality, allows for the writer to build a sense of rapport with the reader, and enables an in-depth understanding of the topic being discussed. Though when hoping to use unbiased information, it may be unuseful to draw upon forms of autoethnography.  

References

McQuail, D (1994) Mass Communication Theory: an introduction, London: Sage Publications LTD

Durkheim, Emile (1997) The Division of Labor in Society, New York: The Free Press

Marx, K. Engels, F. Moore, S. & McLellan, D (1992) The Communist Manifesto, Oxford: Oxford University Press.