Geographies of Girlhood : Identities In-Between

by Bettis, Pamela J.; Adams, Natalie G.

• ISBN13: 9780805846744
• ISBN10: 0805846743
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-01
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbau

Summary

Geographies of Girlhood: Identities In-Betweenexplores how adolescent girls come to understand themselves as female in this culture, particularly during a time when they are learning what it means to be a woman and their identities are in-between that of child and adult, girl and woman. It illuminates the everyday realities of adolescent girls and the real issues that concern them, rather than what adult researchers think is important to adolescent girls. The contributing authors take seriously what girls have to say about themselves and the places and discursive spaces that they inhabit daily. Rather than focusing on girls in the classroom, the book explores adolescent female identity in a myriad of kid-defined spaces both in-between the formal design of schooling, as well as outside its purview--from bedrooms to school hallways to the Internet to discourses of cheerleading, race, sexuality, and ablebodiness. These are the geographies of girlhood, the important sites of identity construction for girls and young women. This book is situated within the fledgling field of Girls Studies. All chapters are based on field research with adolescent girls and young women; hence, the voices of girls themselves are primary in every chapter. All of the authors in the text use the notion of liminality to theorize the in-between spaces and places of schools that are central to how adolescent girls construct a sense of self. The focus of the book on the fluidity of femininity highlights the importance of race, class, sexual orientation, and other salient features of personal identity in discussions of how girls construct gendered identities in different ways. Geographies of Girlhood: Identities In-Betweenchallenges scholars, professionals, and students concerned with gender issues to take seriously the everyday concerns of adolescent girls. It is recommended as a text for education, sociology, and women's studies courses that address these issues.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
1 Landscapes of Girlhood	1	(18)
Pamela J. Bettis and Natalie G. Adams
PART I BEFORE SCHOOL
2 Barbies, Bases, and Beer: The Role of the Home in Junior High School Girls' Identity Work	19	(16)
Don E. Merten
3 Power Beads, Body Glitter, and Backseat Bad-Asses: Girls, Power, and Position on the School Bus	35	(20)
Laura Jewett
PART II AT SCHOOL
4 Girl Talk: Adolescent Girls' Perceptions of Leadership	55	(14)
Dawn M. Shinew and Deborah Thomas Jones
5 Girls in Groups: The Preps and the Sex Mob Try Out for Womanhood	69	(16)
Pamela J. Bettis, Debra Jordan, and Diane Montgomery
6 "The Beauty Walk" as a Social Space for Messages About the Female Body: Toward Transformative Collaboration	85	(16)
Rosary Lalik and Kimberly L. Oliver
7 Fighters and Cheerleaders: Disrupting the Discourse of "Girl Power" in the New Millennium	101	(14)
Natalie G. Adams
8 "Only 4-Minute Passing Periods!" Private and Public Menstrual Identities in School	115	(22)
Laura Fingerson
9 In the World But Not of It: Gendered Religious Socialization at a Christian School	137	(18)
Stacey Elsasser
10 "We Ain't No Dogs": Teenage Mothers (Re)Define Themselves	155	(22)
Sandra Spickard Prettyman
PART III AFTER SCHOOL
11 Black Girls/White Spaces: Managing Identity Through Memories of Schooling	177	(18)
Gerri. A. Banks
12 Unstraightening the Ideal Girl: Lesbians, High School, and Spaces to Be	195	(16)
John E. Petrovic and Rebecca M. Ballard
13 Disputation of a Bad Reputation: Adverse Sexual Labels and the Lives of 12 Southern Women	211	(20)
Delores D. Liston and Regina E. Moore-Rahimi
14 Border Crossing-Border Patrolling: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Sisterhood	231	(22)
Lyn Mikel Brown and Sandy Marie Grande
15 "I Am a Woman Now!": Rewriting Cartographies of Girlhood From the Critical Standpoint of Disability	253	(18)
Nirmala Erevelles and Kagendo Mutua
Afterword: Girlhood, Place, and Pedagogy	271	(10)
Pamela J. Bettis and Natalie G. Adams
Author Biographies	281	(6)
Subject Index	287