Author: Miriam Forman-Brunell

Publisher: ABC-CLIO

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9781576072066

Girls used to be second-class citizens. Today they are coming into their own. Still, girlsʼ lives, their experiences and their roles in the social, cultural, economic and political history of the United States have been widely overlooked. This groundbreaking reference work presents more than 100 signed articles by 98 high-profile interdisciplinary scholars, covering girlhood in North American from the first settlements to the present from a multitude of historical perspectives. Readers will find an impressive array of information, research data, scholarly interpretations and observations. Girlhood in America describes how portrayals of girls in childrenʼs literature, magazines, movies, toys, music and other media have deeply influenced girlsʼ perceptions of themselves and examines rites of passage in multicultural contexts. Excerpts from diaries, memoirs and autobiographical novels, along with more than 150 photographs, illustrate girlsʼ subjective experiences throughout history.