The Secret Life of Girls

Everyone actually hates me at school!

– Five-year-old Mei Mei delivers a distraction to keep the peace

I never clean shoes!

– The novelty of 'female chores' from 1893 starts to wear off for Kayla, late in the first episode

This is how everyday society works, right? Some of us engage in the capitalist trades, and others of us do not.

– Development Psychology Lecturer Annette Henderson comments on the girls splitting into definite groups in the marble game, in part one

People stole our marbles, yeah. And that made us feel sad like we were going to cry. / We didn't actually cry...

– Manaia and Mei Mei comment after behaviour gets ropey in the marble game, in part one

The brothers and the dads don't do the chores! They get to go play and all the women get to do the chores.

– India and Kayla are outraged after a hands-on history lesson in domestic cleaning, late in part one

...It's almost as if those attitudes haven't changed, but they've been added to . . . they're talking about being Prime Minister. So it's not one's replaced the other: they're now just doing both...

– Neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis on the girls' enthusiasm for both family play and careers

When girls are in there playing, they're talking about having meetings and being Prime Minister. I imagine that's quite different to 125 years ago when women didn't have the option of being Prime Minister.

– Nathan Wallis on the 'Jacinda Ardern' effect on the young girls in this TV special. The NZ Herald, 15 September 2018

They are learning what they're supposed to be doing and what society is trying to tell them. You see this internal fight between, 'What I want,' 'How I should be,' and, 'How I'm expected to be'. That's a big enough struggle for adults, but it's really hard for them.

– University lecturer Annette Henderson on the dynamics seen in The Secret Life of Girls, The NZ Herald, 15 September 2018

Because I really wanted to win the prize.

– Aurora is honest about her motivation for stealing marbles

They're fascinating, they haven't been influenced by the outside world at this age. They just give their own opinion, raw and unaffected. 

– Nathan Wallis on the amazing child interactions in The Secret Life of Girls, The NZ Herald, 15 September 2018

Monitored by two teachers, the dozen girls are left to interact with each other through free play and during activities designed to make them think about why they're doing what they're doing. [Annette] Henderson and [Nathan] Wallis watch their every move and help put seemingly innocuous interactions into perspective. What you see is exactly what happens when adults interact, says Wallis. There's just one big difference: they're not as subtle about it.

– NZ Herald writer Chris Schulz on The Secret Life of Girls, 15 September 2018

It means that you are kind and caring, and that you can stand up for yourself.

– Henry explains what being strong means, after being asked to sort the group by strength in part two

I must have turned away.

– Henry tries to explain how a lollipop went missing, in part two