Girls’ Sexualities and the Media

About the Author Kate Harper (PhD, Arizona State University) has published work in The Girlhood Studies Journal on the contradictory messages of female adolescence in the Nancy Drew mystery series, and her dissertation explores the discursive construction of the ideal girl and her non-ideal counterparts in popular girls’ series through the twentieth century. More broadly, her research interests include histories of girlhood and intersecting representations of sexuality, race, and class in literature and popular culture. Yasmina Katsulis (PhD, Yale University) is Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University. She is the author of Sex Work and the City: The Social Geography of Health and Safety in Tijuana, Mexico (2010) and has had her work published in Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Men and Masculinities, and Women and Violence. Vera Lopez (PhD, University of Texas at Austin) is Associate Professor in Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University. She has had her work published in a number of journals, including Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Violence Against Women, Family Relations, Feminist Criminology, Criminal Justice & Behavior, and Journal of Early Adolescence. Georganne Scheiner Gillis, (PhD, Arizona State University) is the Head of Faculty and Associate Professor in Women and Gender Studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. She is the author of Signifying Female Adolescence: Film Representations and Fans 1920–1950 (2000) and has published articles on such topics as Sandra Dee, fan clubs, and the 1950s TV show, Queen for a Day. She is currently finishing a book, Haven for Hopefuls: The Hollywood Studio Club and Women in the Film Industry. Product Description This anthology provides exciting, innovative research focused on the construction of adolescent girls’ sexuality in the media. The volume includes a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives from the humanities and the social sciences, addressing how girls and others respond to, work with, and even resist prevailing media representations of girls’ sexualities and how they use contemporary media as a form of sexual expression. The authors consider a wide array of sexual attitudes, behaviors, and expressions not commonly seen in the sexualities literature, including the voices of «other» girls whose voices are often ignored, particularly racial/ethnic minority and indigenous girls, sexual minorities, and girls from non-U.S. settings. The use of ethnographic data, in conjunction with media analysis techniques, provides a unique approach to the media studies genre, which tends to highlight an analysis of media content, as opposed to the ways in which media is used in everyday life. Review «This edited collection is a refreshing look at research that embraces the basic tenets of cultural studies work. It boldly explores the context (history) within which representations emerge, emphasizes the importance of audiences, and offers a feisty review of ways girls can talk back to the culture through resistance.» (Deb Merskin, Associate Professor, School of Journalism & Communication, University of Oregon; Co-Editor, Critical Thinking About Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media) «This truly outstanding collection of essays – by pioneers as well as rising stars in the fields of girls, gender, sexuality, and media studies – sheds new light on the interaction of innumerable forces at work in regulating and resisting girls’ sexuality in popular media. The tripartite arrangement of the essays, which critically consider the intersection of girls’ age, class, race, ethnicities, nationalities, and sexualities, frames this comprehensive examination of popular representations of girls’ sexuality, girls’ reception and self re/presentations, as well as girls’ media literacy endeavors. The nuanced explorations of competing fears and fantasies about