Girls in power : gender, body, and menstruation in adolescence / Laura Fingerson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fingerson, Laura, 1974-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Teenage girls--Psychology.

Teenage girls.

Menstruation--Social aspects.

Menstruation.

Human body--Social aspects.

Human body.

Sex role.

Physical Description:

x, 190 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2006]

Summary:

Girls in Power offers a fascinating and unique look at the social aspects of menstruation in the lives of adolescent girls-and also in the lives of adolescent boys. Although there has been much research on other aspects of gender and the body, this is one of the few books to examine menstruation and the first to explore how it plays a part in power interactions between boys and girls. Talking openly in single-and mixed-gender settings, individuals and groups of high school-age girls and boys share their interpretations and experiences of menstruation. Author Laura Fingerson reveals that while teens have negative feelings about menstruation, teen girls use their experiences of menstruation as a source of embodied power in their interactions with other girls and with boys. She also explores how boys deal with their own reduced power. The book extends our theoretical and analytical understanding of youth, gender, power, and embodiment by providing a more balanced view of adolescent social life.

Contents:

lt1 Introduction 1

Menstruation is...

Salient Body Experiences

The Teen Participants

The Interviewers

Analysis of the Data

2 Negative and Ambivalent Experiences 15

Concealment and Shame

The Horrors of Leaking

"Why I Never Carry a Purse"

The Body as Actor

What If It Gets Stuck?

Tampax Ads in a Room Full of Boys

The Checkout Boy

"Surfin' the Crimson Wave"

"It's Not a Big Deal"

3 Cultural Contexts 39

Cultural History of Menstruation

Concealment and Hygiene

Taboos

Contemporary Views and Advice

Historical Context of Health and Medicine

Schools

The Family

Media, Advertising, and Merchandising

4 Medicalization and Gender Politics of the Body 57

Medicalization of Menstruation

Fifth-Grade Health Class

Menstruation as a Reproductive Issue

What About the Blood?

Every Single Month Forever and Ever

Menstrual Suppression?

The Value of Female Bodies

What If Men Could Menstruate?

Understanding Gender

Living in Our Bodies

5 Girls in Power 83

Agency and Power

Creatively Responding to Dominant Social Norms

Forging Connections

"I Don't Think Boys Could Handle It"

Menstruation Is Social

Getting "It"

Stories and Supportive Talk

What's Normal

How Embarrassing!

But Adults Don't Talk This Way!

Interviewing in Community Groups

Isn't Menstruation a Personal Event?

"We Should Just Create a Women's Store"

6 Boys' Responses 111

Knowledge Is Power

Blaming Menstruation

"Grossing Them Out"

Menstruation as a Sexual Issue

Boys' Jokes

Who Has the Power?

Embarrassing and Teasing Girls

Girls' Advantages

Expressing Power: Second and Third Wave Feminism

Potential for Manipulation

Alternate Responses by Boys

"My Friend Kristin Explained..."

Beef Jerky

7 Conclusion: Bodies in Interaction 145

The Teens' Concluding Thoughts

Different Interpretations

Social Interactions and Gendered Power

Menstrual Celebrations

Reflections on Research Methods

Appendix A Participants in Individual and Group Interviews 157

Girls

Boys

Appendix B Interview Guides 161

Individual Interviews

Group Interviews.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-185) and index.

ISBN:

0791468992

079146900X

OCLC:

62738602

Publisher Number:

9780791468999

9780791469002