"I want to read stuff on boys": white, Latina, and black girls reading seventeen magazine and encountering adolescence.

Full Abstract

This study is based on interviews with four focus groups consisting of fourteen white, Latina, and black girls, ages 13 to 16 years, from diverse backgrounds. The objectives of the study are to gain insight into what forum girls use to learn about the adolescent experience and to examine teenage girls' views of their sexuality and femininity. The girls' discussion of their lives and perceptions of the teen magazine Seventeen reveal a displacement of female sexuality. The magazine's message to teenage girls of gaining self-worth through emphasized femininity seems to resonate with these girls regardless of class and race. We conclude that responsible adults need to challenge the distorted media images of adolescent development and teenage girls' sexuality.

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Author information

Author/s: Kaplan, Elaine Bell (EB); Cole, Leslie (L);

Affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA. ekaplan@usc.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Adolescence (Adolescence), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-; vol 38 (issue 149) : pp 141-59

Dates: Created 2003/06/13; Completed 2003/10/21; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 12803459, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Periodicals as Topic
Reading
Sexual Behavior - psychology
Social Class
Social Environment

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