On Tuesday night, the BBC’s One Show revealed a programme about the “famous” Essex accent after it was subject to new research.
TV presenter, Jeff Brazier, headed to Westcliff High School for Girls, to find out more about the impact of having an Essex accent can have on young women.
This comes after a study, by the Essex University, revealed teenage girls in Essex are feeling immense pressure to alter their speech due to negative stereotypes linked to the county.
Study – Jeff Brazier at Westcliff High School for Girls (Image: BBC The One Show)
The study, led by head of voice and speech Dr Tara McAllister-Viel, used spoken word poetry to delve into the perceptions of teenage girls from Southend.
Dr McAllister-Viel’s project, now an audio exhibition at Clifftown Theatre, aimed to celebrate the diversity of voices, accents, and languages in Essex.
However, it uncovered that the girls felt undervalued and unheard.
The programme showed how a small group of girls from Westcliff High School for Girls volunteered for a series of workshops.
The workshops encouraged the girls to reflect on their experiences growing up in Essex.
They were given the opportunity to write and perform their own poems in front of students at the school.
Confidence – Pupils at Westcliff High School for Girls reading out their poems (Image: BBC The One Show)
The project revealed that the girls felt burdened by the persistent negative stereotypes associated with being a female 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.”
However, during the programme, and after reading their poems to fellow pupils, the teenager girls learnt to be proud of their identity.
One student who watched on stated: “I found it really inspiring as it felt like it was my voice up there.”
Another student, who wrote and read out her poem, added: “I feel like this will help me grow a bit. I don’t care what people think about me or judge me. The support was just great.”
Jeff Brazier concluded the featured programme by hailing the young women as “incredibly inspiring”.
He added: “We should be proud of our voices. At end of the day the only one we have got.”