Reference Reviews
Lawrence Looks at Books
Girl Culture: an Encyclopedia, edited by Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh. 2 vols. 702p. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. 978-0-313-33908-0; 2007-40517. $185.
Barbara Millicent Roberts burst upon the world in 1959. In a blonde ponytail and striped swimsuit, she was immediately popular. She was so commercially successful in fact that she was soon followed by siblings, a little brother and some five sisters, from Skipper to Krissy. Being a teenager, Barbie, as she was known to everyone, inevitably acquired a boyfriend, Ken Carson. Hailed initially as an innovative teenage doll, Barbie eventually attracted criticism as representing an unhealthy, stereotyped ideal for young girls. That criticism has dogged the toy despite nearly fifty years of success for the fashion doll franchise and its diversification into all sorts of media. On one side of the issue is a toy manufacturer trying to garner sales by appealing to specific groups of young female consumers. On the other, are social critics who find the images marketed by the manufacturer both demeaning and inappropriate to the young girls in question.
At the root of the controversy is a basic question. What does it mean to be a girl in America? Perhaps not surprisingly, this seemingly simple question is not so easy to answer. Responses will vary when even trying to distinguish the age group in question, much less defining issues of sexuality and identity. However, that the question is one deserving attention is precisely the point of the editors of this examination of the feminine side of American youth culture. Scholars Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, as well as most of their 144 contributors have made their careers studying gender concerns and distinguishing girl culture from that of boys and young men. The point of this new reference tool is to establish the legitimacy of girl culture as a subject of academic research, for which they choose two approaches. A selection of 14 essays by leading gender studies specialists demonstrates the types of approaches that researchers may take to the study of girl culture, with topics ranging from doll culture and depictions in Disney films to girl gamers and stylistic expression. Some 254 A-Z entries explore different aspects of girlhood, both past and present. From Anne of Green Gables to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the representations of girls in books, film and television provide excellent documentation of changing attitudes and expectations. Likewise, comic books, magazines and music reflect popular culture and ideas. All serve as points of departure for research and figure prominently in the coverage of topics. Stereotypes and celebrity role models are also examined. Issues of play, identity, and body image are investigated. Cultural expectations and rites of passage are explained. However, the articles are not so much an attempt to provide answers, but a guide to formulating questions regarding a significant formative period in life. This eye-opening approach will serve researchers in high school, public and academic libraries.
—John R.M. Lawrence