Untaming Girlhoods: Storytelling Female Adolescence

Untaming Girlhoods is an interdisciplinary study that examines depictions of girlhoods in popular narrative, film, and television adaptations through a comparative study of foundational fairy tales. It questions the empowerment of young heroine as a manipulation of feminist ideals and a continuation of the traditional vision of female awakening.

Format: Hardback
Length: 220 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive interdisciplinary study delves into depictions of girlhood through a comparative analysis of foundational fairy tales, revised and reimagined in popular narrative, film, and television adaptations. The popularity of franchises like The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Divergence has brought forth a new portrayal of the young heroine as an empowered female, often standing as a warrior hero in her own right. However, this empowerment raises questions regarding its manipulation of feminist ideals of equality and its continuation of the traditional vision of female awakening, which primarily revolves around issues of personal choice, agency, physical violence, purity, and beauty. By examining recurring storytelling frameworks and archetypes, Untaming Girlhoods explores diverse representations of girlhood in the 20th- and 21st-century Anglo-American cultural imaginary, moving beyond the traditional fairy-tale princess or damsel in distress to redefine modern girlhoods in innovative and groundbreaking ways. This insightful text will be invaluable for students and researchers in Girlhood Studies, Gender Studies, Film Studies, Popular Culture, and Media Studies, offering valuable insights into the complex and evolving portrayal of girls and women in contemporary media.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781138589551