Girl studies
Girl studies, also known as girlhood studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field of study that is focused on girlhood and girls' culture that combines advocacy and the direct perspectives and thoughts of girls themselves. The field emerged in the 1990s after decades of falling under the broader field of women's studies. Scholars within girl studies examine social and cultural elements of girlhood and move away from an adult-centered focus. Those working in the field of girl studies have studied it primarily in relation to other fields that include: sociology, psychology, education, history, literary studies, media studies, and communication studies. Girl studies seeks to work directly with girls themselves in order to analyze their lives and understand the large societal forces at play within them. Scholars in girl studies also explore the connection the field has to women's studies, boyhood studies, and masculinity studies. There are many different definitions of what a girl is. Some may say that a girl is under the age of 18. Catherine Driscoll discusses how in the nineteenth century, girls were traditionally defined as younger than the age of consent. Claudia Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh discuss girlhood beginning from birth to late twenties. Girlhood is often designated by age and consists of imitating observed and learned adult behavior.
History and development
Girl studies became a field in the 1990s, after the increase in conversation about getting more girls into science, math, and technology fields in the 1980s, though scholars and researchers were studying girls prior to this decade. In the 1970s, some feminist scholars brought to attention the unbalanced focus of boyhood in comparison to girlhood in youth research. Angela McRobbie, Meda Chesney-Lind, and Christine Griffin were some of the few scholars studying and critiquing the lack of study on girlhood and girl culture in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early 1990s, the Harvard Project on Women's Psychology and Girls' Development conducted a study on the social development of relationships of girls. This study found that when they approach adolescence, girls begin to hide their honest feelings and desires from those they are in close relationships with, making it hard for them to express their feelings later in life. In 1992, the American Association of University Women published How Schools Shortchange Girls, "the first national survey to assert a link between girls' psychosocial experience and schooling". Girls often associate school with being unsafe due to sexual harassment and rape. Dress code is a prime example of the control of girls and the message of how what they wear is more valuable than their education. The term ‘daddy’s girl’ is used popularly as an example of how girls are subordinates. Gender roles are a social institution in attempt to control girls.Girl studies emerged in the 1990s, a time when there was an increased interest from the media and fashion and beauty industries in young women. Advertisers and retailers marketed towards girls by "promising female youth agency and social value" from purchasing the products. Jackie Kirk et al., discuss how terms that are meant for unity and empowerment such as ‘girl power’ are often used for marketing purposes rather than considered in policy making. Consumerism defines who a girl is and companies market towards girls in efforts to spark their attention. Companies would target products towards young girls that would subliminally send them messages about society's expectations of girls which includes toys and dolls such as Bratz dolls, Barbie dolls, my scene dolls. Companies target these types of girls when selling products such as dolls, music, hair, or clothes. This phenomenon is referred to as tween culture and usually correlates to girls who are between nine and thirteen years old. The term tween usually denotes a young girl rather than a boy. This age period is important because it is a time of fundamental development of an adolescent concerning their identity. There are many studies that focus on how gender roles are imposed onto children and children are socialized to behave that way rather than gender roles having a biological element.
Within the academy, there was an increase in feminist and gender studies scholars focusing on intersectionality and subsequently on girls. Discussing intersectionality within girls’ studies is difficult because each girl truly does have their own experience. It is important to recognize this and that each identity that makes up an individual contributes to their unique experience. All aspects of an individual's identity cause them to be at the intersection of multiple oppressions. There are a lot of factors that can go into being a girl such as economic status, race, age, class, gender, sexuality, religion, environment, and ethnicity. Girls are highly influenced from a young age and reprimanded when societal norms are not being followed. Some groups are overlooked, and it is imperative that we consider every single one in policy making and advocacy. Mary Pipher in Reviving Ophelia acknowledges girls with various sexualities, family dynamics, health states, etc. Mary describes girls as trees who are frail in a huge storm. Their roots determine if they are strong enough to withstand the storm. If they are not, they will fall. Girls’ roots are their family and how they are raised, their foundation. Some survive the storm and stay true to themselves, while others let themselves be influenced. In 2008, scholars Claudia Mitchell, Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, and Jackie Kirk established and launched Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal after recognizing the emerging interest in the field at the 2001 "A New Girl Order: Young Women and the Future of Feminist Inquiry" conference at King's College London.
As girl studies develops, "there has been significant movement away from studying girls as future women and toward analyzing girls as members of a unique demographic group", especially in psychology, history, and sociology. There is also a movement towards focusing more on intersectionality and the experiences of girls across the world. In a 2016 article, Claudia Mitchell acknowledges the presence of girlhood studies in Africa, referencing a South African video project called Vikea Abantwana . The video chronicles the life of Philendelini, a young girl who was raped by her father. Mitchell mentions this film to highlight the necessity of girlhood studies; in the film, Philendelini confides in several adult women about her assault and is ignored or turned down in each instance.
On the topic of insuring an intersectional and transnational approach in girl studies, scholar Oneka LaBennett commented “Black schoolgirls and college students have engaged in protests across the globe. Girls themselves have drawn attention to the negative impact of things like white beauty standards, the intersections of racial and gender violence, the problems with police brutality and the school-to-prison pipeline."
Previously a subject of adolescent psychology and feminist studies; girl studies have also grown through the adoption of 'Cool Japan,' a campaign by the Japanese foreign ministry to spread the appeal of Japanese popular culture and images. Due to its preoccupation with Japanese youth and schoolgirls, Cool Japan has become a topic of girl studies, branching out into many areas. Such movements reflect the interdisciplinary nature of girl studies.
Barrie Thorne, Sociology and Gender and Women's studies professor at The University of California Berkeley, described the four interpretations of the term play. The first meaning is some sort of movement or gesture. Boys and girls almost classify themselves and participate collectively in specific activities creating taxonomies. The second definition of play Thorne described is some sort of production. This correlates to joking around in an effort to downplay something stereotypical or offensive. The third definition of play translates to the capacity to accomplish something. This idea compares to the potential someone has by separating genders and highlighting inequality. The fourth and final definition of play according to Thorne corresponds to the belittlement of children. Furthermore, the term play suggests children being naïve and innocent. It also suggests them being less important or their lives to be considered simple, ultimately dismissing them. Thorne points out how it is common for men to invade verbal space when a woman is talking by interrupting, just like they dominated on the playground when they were younger.
Effect on girls
It is common for girls to have eating disorders, emotional trauma, and fear of sexual harassment. Girls develop a negative perception of themselves which takes a toll on their confidence and capability. Peggy Orenstein concocted the term 'confidence gap' and noticed a trend that young girls experience. Orenstein concluded that no matter economic status, geographic region, education, or race, girls still received the same messages and experienced the confidence gap. Orenstein notes that girls experience a decrease in confidence once they reach adolescence. Throughout the book, Peggy studies two girls in the eighth grade from two different backgrounds. Along her study, she noted that it was common for girls to experience eating disorders, sexual harassment, and therefore a decrease in academic performance, specifically in math and science. Orenstein discovers that the reasons girls undergo the confidence gap, is because of gender bias and sexism in school, family relations and friendship rooted in societal norms, and cultural standards. Sex abuse is often normalized in highly urban areas and girls do not have the access to sexual education to teach them about consent and protection. They then can become susceptible to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.There have been several other studies conducted that examine the relationship between the media and girls' relationships with their bodies.