Littleover Community School

BBC News School Report @ LCS

From Girl Band to Bookstand

By: Anika


			From Girl Band to Bookstand
Alesha Dixon

Alesha Dixon first achieved fame by being a member of a girl band called Mis-teeq. Since then she has been a prominent figure in lots of TV reality shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice. She has recently confirmed over Instagram that she will be writing two books about a new girl superhero called Aurora Beam. Alesha said that she wanted to “create a strong female character who young girls and boys can hopefully be inspired by and look up to.” The first of the two will be out next spring.

Dixon has walked on Naomi Campbell’s fashion show, she has released a lot of music and has also started presenting ITV’s new show called “Dance Dance Dance.”

Although there has been a lot of controversy over superheroes for a while now, a lot of people are hoping that these books could demolish the running stereotype. I asked some teachers at my school what they think about this book and the stereotypes surrounding it, this is what they had to say:

Interviewer: Do you think that there are too many male superheroes?

Miss Came (PSHE teacher at Littleover Community School): All the superheroes that I grew up with were male and that did annoy me. I’m definitely up for more female superheroes, I think it would be fantastic.

Interviewer: Do you think that she’s doing this to further her career or to create somebody to look up to?

Mr. Smith (Technology teacher at Littleover Community School): I think she’s money grabbing. She’s only doing it for the cash.

Ms. Senior (Sociology teacher at Littleover Community School): It doesn’t really matter. Both are good things. We need more strong female role models.

Interviewer: A lot of female characters are stereotyped, for example, pretty and pink and always wearing revealing clothing and are normally saved by male characters. How does this make you feel?

Anonymous: I agree with that statement whole heartedly. I don’t approve of it at all. I don’t see the need to wear little skirts and dresses. Why do they need to show off their assets to be taken seriously?

I think that Alesha’s book will break down all the stereotypes for girls recently and that the second book will continue to inspire kids everywhere.