I find that the Spice Girls are a confusing symbol of girl power. The Spice Girls dress skimpy and provocative and what they wear influences teens & children. Most parents don't want their children to have the Spice Girls as role models because of this. The liberalists claim that your outside doesn't reflect your integrity and that you can't judge somebody by the way they dress. They feel that how you present yourself doesn't define your character. I also believe that motives count. But consider this: Each of the Spice Girls dresses a certain way to reflect their interests and character. Baby Spice dresses girly with frills, fluffs and pinks revealing a cheerful and innocent character. Posh and Ginger Spice dress quite skimpy expressing a more flirtatious character. Scary Spice dresses more gothic revealing a strong and attention-grabbing character. Sporty Spice dresses in the athletic realm showing her interest in sports and showing her as a playful yet tough character.

Clothes and accessories express your style, personality and your social group. The social group that you are in tends to have similar interests, styles and back rounds. Your back round can reflect similar lifestyles. So, the way you dress can and does reflect your way of life and hopefully your individuality.

If they each choose to use their dress as communication to their personalities, then we should accept that. But not blindly. Are the motives of girls who dress skimpy or provocative simply to please their male audience? I would think so. Not only is that style of clothing usually uncomfortable, but it also can be embarrassing. What happened to girl power? Girl power includes your education, strength and morals. So, does provoking men to focus on the physical show girl power? Does using your physical attributes (by dressing skimpy) promote your self-confidence and character?

Girl power is not letting people take advantage of you. Girl power is when you stand up for your rights and show that you deserve respect.

Now, back to the role model issue. Some people think that the Spice Girls are trashy and show too much skin. And some adults complain that Spice Girls are a bad influence on teens and children because of the way they dress (which is quite skimpy). I don't think adults should be ridiculing any pop stars. Parents should be observant and aware of what media influences their children. Parents are (or should be) those people we live with who we can trust as a positive example of how to live. We should know what they think is right and wrong by the way they live and act. We should be able to see from their life what works and what doesn't. They shouldn't have to tell us what they think of this [music] group or that movie. We should see that specific moral in their dealings with problems/situations. But, they should be there to give us a clue if we are about to smudge our quality of life. I think most parents can indeed offer good advice and steer us away from bad influences, such as the media.

I don't think anyone should look to the Spice Girls, or any famous persons, for anything save their talents and for clothing trends. Our morals shouldn't be decided by the people with power (a president), money (royalty), or talent (movie stars & musicians). Therefore, don't look to the Spice Girls for examples of good lifestyle.

I am glad that the Spice Girls promote girl power, even if they don't know what it is. I think girl power is taking the initiative to accomplish something and perhaps even overcoming some difficulties on the way. In this way the Spice Girls have girl power. But you have to consider the whole picture. Looking at what they accomplished and the qualities they demonstrate or the message they're sending helps me to get an idea of who the Spice Girls are. They are, for instance, one of the few all girl groups who have made it this "popular" in the music industry.

What happened to the girl power that is found in women who take care of themselves and makes positive choices?

Scary Spice says girl power is all about who you wanna be. Sporty Spice said that she wasn't popular as a girl, but girl power to her meant that she could do the same things as boys without limiting herself. Baby Spice said girl power means girls can do anything they want to. And Ginger Spice, the one who left, is backing a campaign to cut pregnancy deaths.

So, accept that the Spice Girls dress a bit provocative. Then try and remember why you like them. Is it their hot & trendy clothes, their cool "girl power" attitude, or their actual music that you love? If you love them for their "girl power" logo then ask yourself if the Spice Girls really represent girl power. And don't mistake their definition of "girl power" for yours. Decide for yourself what girl power is.