Negative Essex stereotypes pressure girls to change the way they talk

Teenage girls from Essex feel pressured to change the way they talk because of negative stereotypes about the county and its accent research has revealed.

Dr Tara McAllister-Viel, from East 15 Acting School, used spoken word poetry to explore what a group of teenage girls from Southend-on-Sea thought about how they were perceived.

The aim of the project, which has been turned into an audio exhibition at Clifftown Theatre in the city, was to celebrate the rich diversity of voices, accents and languages in Essex. It has revealed that girls growing up in the county continue to feel undervalued and unheard.

Ten girls from Westcliff High School for Girls volunteered to take part in a series of workshops led by Dr McAllister-Viel, Head of Voice and Speech at East 15. They reflected on what it was like to be a teenage girl growing up in Essex and wrote poems which they were taught to perform.

The project revealed they felt blighted by persistent negative stereotypes associated with being a girl or woman from Essex.

Dr McAllister-Viel explained: “These girls are at such an exciting moment in their lives when their identities are shifting and they are trying to learn who they are. But they don’t think teenagers, particularly teenage girls, are taken seriously.

“They said the perception is that an Essex girl is unintelligent, uncreative, and they don’t feel that stereotype represents them at all.

“They spoke about receiving negative messages about the way they sound and revealed they would sometimes feel the pressure to ‘code switch’ the way they speak when they moved between different places, regions and countries. Some are even taking courses so they can learn to speak what they perceive to be ‘properly’.”

As well as the 30-minute audio installation, the exhibition Land(mark) Voices, which runs 7-15 November, includes mind maps and discussion notes made by the girls during the sessions. It is part of the national Being Human Festive of events celebrating arts and humanities research.

The project, run in collaboration with industry partner Write2Speak, provided an opportunity to capture a snapshot of how Essex influences the voices of girls through their accent, language, sound, vocabulary, and speech structure.

As well as revealing what the girls thought about their voices now, it also revealed how they think their voices will influence their future. One girl, who said she is proud to sound like her Essex-born mother, said she might have to change her voice in the future when she hopes to travel around the world.

Speaking about why she used spoken word poetry for the project, Dr McAllister-Viel said: “Spoken word poetry is perfect for this type of reflection because it is generated out of someone’s life experiences. The written poem is one thing but when it is spoken and performed, it comes alive.

“Saying your ideas aloud gives your words a potency. It puts them out there for a listener to hear and gives you an opportunity to change someone’s mind about you.”