Pretty in punk : girls' gender resistance in a boys' subculture / Lauraine Leblanc.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leblanc, Lauraine, 1968-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Teenage girls--United States--Psychology.

Teenage girls.

Teenage girls--United States--Attitudes.

Punk culture--United States.

Punk culture.

Sex role--United States.

Sex role.

Sex differences (Psychology).

Psychology.

United States.

Sex differences (Psychology)--United States.

Gender identity--United States.

Gender identity.

Physical Description:

xii, 286 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, [1999]

Summary:

Why would an articulate, intelligent, thoughtful young woman shave off most of her hair, dye the remainder green, shape it into a mohawk, and glue it onto her head? What attracts girls to male-dominated youth subcultures like the punk movement? What role does the subculture play in their perceptions of themselves, and in their self-esteem? How do girls reconcile a subcultural identity that is deliberately coded "masculine" with the demands of "femininity"?

Research has focused on the ways media and cultural messages victimize young women, but little attention has been paid to the ways they resist these messages. In Pretty in Punk, Lauraine Leblanc examines what happens when girls ignore these cultural messages, parody ideas of beauty, and refuse to play the games of teenage femininity. She also explores the origins and development of the punk subculture, the processes by which girls decide to "go punk," patterns of resistance to gender norms, and tactics girls use to deal with violence and harassment. Finally, Leblanc illuminates punk girls' resistance to adversity, their triumphs over tough challenges, and their work to create individual identities in a masculinist world.

Contents:

"Not My Alma Mater": A Vitriolic Prologue 1

1 "The Punk Girl Thing": Introductions 6

2 "Punk's Not Dead

It Just Smells That Way": Punk to Hardcore, with Girls on the Side 33

3 "I Grew Up and I Was a Punk": Subcultural Stories 65

4 "The Punk Guys Will Really Overpower What the Punk Girls Have to Say": The Boys' Turf 103

5 "I'll Slap on My Lipstick and Then Kick Their Ass": Constructing Femininity 134

6 "Oh, I Hope I Don't Catch Anything": Punk Deviance and Public Harassment 166

7 "I Bet a Steel-Capped Boot Could Shut You Up": Resistance to Public Sexual Harassment 196

8 "Girls Kick Ass": Nonacademic Conclusions 218.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-274) and index.

ISBN:

0813526507

0813526515

OCLC:

40396542