How to make a girl: female sexuality in young adult literature

197 Pages·2016·0.89 MB·English

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LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School
2003
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Ann Elizabeth Younger
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
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Younger, Ann Elizabeth, "How to make a girl: female sexuality in young adult literature" (2003). LSU
Doctoral Dissertations. 257.
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/257
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HOW TO MAKE A GIRL:
FEMALE SEXUALITY
IN YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
The Department of English
By
Ann Elizabeth Younger
B.A., Humboldt State University, 1996
M.A., Louisiana State University, 1998
August 2003
Dedicated to my mother and feminist inspiration, Ann Carol Younger.
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Acknowledgments
I wish to acknowledge and give thanks to those who have been instrumental in my
graduate career. My major professor and dissertation director Robin Roberts has been the
most influential teacher and mentor I have ever had. She gave freely of her time, wisdom
and experience, and her generosity enabled me to excel in making the transition from
student to teacher, writer, and published author. She listened to my ideas, encouraged my
growth, and asked of me more than I thought I was able to give. One of her greatest gifts
was her respect for me as a scholar; she never imposed her own ideas on my work, but
simply encouraged me to more fully develop my own. By expecting and encouraging my
growth, she helped me to realize I could succeed. I feel very lucky to have had her
guidance. I hope that I can do justice to her amazing presence as a professor and mentor
by following her example in my own work as a teacher and advisor.
Each of my committee members deserves special thanks for their participation. Ed
White, who knows how to answer the question of the day, was an invaluable source of
advice, support and encouragement. He is an engaging, thoughtful and generous teacher,
as well as a supportive friend. Rick Moreland was the first person I ever spoke to at LSU,
and his kindness and wise counsel set a positive tone that lasted throughout my graduate
tenure. His involvement in my academic life was unfailingly supportive and helpful. Elsie
Michie, a brilliant thinker and wonderful Professor, contributed by helping me to
examine my ideas more carefully and to expand them beyond conventional borders. I am
also thankful for the insightful contributions of Claudia Eppert, who provided much
needed input on matters of pedagogy and feminist theory. Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh
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courageously took on the role of Dean’s representative at the last minute, and contributed
perceptive observations and helpful encouragement.
I could not have survived the pressures of graduate school and writing a
dissertation without the love and support I receive from my friends. My dear friend
Wendy Self has been most patient and tolerant of my moodiness during the past few
years. Her calm and thoughtful presence in my life means a great deal to me; her long
distance bill reflects our many lengthy phone conversations that sustained me through
difficult times, and her summertime visits to me were always a welcome respite. I value
our friendship very much. I will always appreciate my friend Margaret Kelly, whose
generosity towards me began in grade school when she shared her bologna sandwiches
when I forgot my own lunch. Always the optimist, Margaret expressed confidence in me
by calling me Dr. Younger long before I earned the title. Her many visits to Louisiana
(often in the heat of summer) provided much needed and appreciated diversions from
academic life. In addition, the friends I made while in graduate school helped make the
years more than just bearable. I learned much about life and literature with and from each
of them, including Jim Roderick, Brad Bankston, Kalene Westmoreland, Alcena Rogan,
Ellen Puccinelli, Stephanie Rehn, Meg Watson, Meredith Gale, Margaret Clark, Janet
Barnwell, and Bonnie Noonan.
My family has always been a continuing source of love and support throughout
my life. My brother has helped me relocate (numerous times) across the state and across
the country. His unwavering faith in my ability to achieve my goals has inspired me
whenever I’ve felt down. My sister is an amazing example of resilience and persistence,
and her strength and temerity inspire me to persevere in my own efforts. She always
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impresses me with her wit and her kindness, and her ability to make macaroni and
cheese. My mother is the most inspiring woman I have ever known. Her strength and
fortitude are amazing. She taught me that women can achieve anything they want to, and
should always be independent and self-sufficient. At difficult times in her life, she never
gives up. She endured troublesome circumstances and somehow, through sheer force of
will, achieved success and happiness. She is my feminist inspiration. Everything I do and
achieve is influenced by her confidence in me. During the last months of writing my
dissertation, she supported my work with love, a place to live, an empathic ear, and a
seemingly endless supply of Diet Coke.
Finally, I am eternally grateful to my friend Jeff, whose generous gesture of
allowing me to adopt Marcy Keeton Younger was one of the most incredible gifts I have
ever received. She gives me love, affection, companionship, and more joy than I thought
I could experience. She waits patiently while I work, never complains about the long
hours I keep, and thinks everything I write is brilliant. She is the best canine companion
anyone could ask for.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter
1 Pleasure, Pain, and the Power of Being Thin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2 Do the Right Thing: Pregnancy and Reproductive Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3 Rubyfruit Junglegym: Lesbian Young Adult Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4 Discourses of Power: Young Adult Romance Novels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
5 Series Fictions Grow Up: From Nancy Drew to Gossip Girl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Vita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
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Abstract
Young Adult literature is an important source of information for young readers,
and this genre makes a distinct contribution to the cultural and social construction of
femininity and female sexuality in its pages. How to Make a Girl: Female Sexuality in
Young Adult Literature analyzes representations of female sexuality in more than fifty
texts. By examining these texts in relation to each other and in terms of historical
development, this project creates a literary history of female sexuality in Young Adult
fictions. By depicting young women in varying stages of adolescence and young
adulthood, these fictional texts offer unique representations of young female characters.
Since adolescence is a life stage that usually includes a growing awareness of
sexuality, this genre is replete with issues, images, and ideas connected to sexuality. By
analyzing themes and tropes such as body image, lesbianism, pregnancy, and romance,
and their relationship(s) to female sexuality, this study reveals the participation of Young
Adult literature in the social construction of femininity and female sexuality. Examining
these texts with a feminist perspective reveals the complexities of these representations.
Each chapter focuses on the various functions of these tropes, such as an imbedded link
between body image and sexual responsibility, a critique of compulsory heterosexuality,
pregnancy as impetus for separation from the traditional family unit and the idea of
romance as a transitional stage for young women. While many texts reinforce traditional
gender roles for young women, many more texts challenge received ideas and provide
alternative visions of what it means to be young and female in patriarchal culture.
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Introduction
An important source of direct and indirect cultural information for young readers,
Young Adult literature portrays adolescents negotiating the social and sexual standards of
the dominant culture. Often defined as what is specifically published for teenagers,
Young Adult literature encompasses books written about young adults and teenagers,
while Adolescent literature includes anything that same group freely chooses to read.
Studying Young Adult literature reveals the genre as uniquely subject to social
supervision and censorship, and situates these texts in a marginal cultural position that
resembles the life stage it seeks to describe.
Young Adult fiction deserves critical recognition, and should be studied
separately from children’s texts, since each genre focuses on a unique stage of life. In
existence since 1949, Young Adult fiction has become a distinct body of literature with a
rapidly developing canon. The genre has its own traditions such as first-person narration
and a focus on adolescent protagonists. Because of its focus on adolescents in formation,
the genre also centers on sexuality and sexual development, particularly female sexuality.
Because of this locus, Young Adult literature is a prominent site of the
construction/representation of teenage female sexuality.
Because of its focus on adolescent characters, Young Adult fiction (unlike other
genres) provides a vast range of representations of adolescent girls as sexual beings. In an
article analyzing sexuality in children’s literature, Linnea Hendrickson argues that
“establishing one’s identity and finding one’s role in life while at the same time trying to
confront one’s emerging sexuality has a long tradition as a theme in our children’s
literature” 1 (21). Her statement applies as well to Young Adult literature. Examining
1
more than fifty Young Adult texts in relation to each other and over fifty years, this
project creates a literary history of female sexuality in Young Adult fiction.
Despite its continuing popularity among readers and educators, until recently
Young Adult Literature has received scant attention from literary critics. According to
Caroline Hunt in “Young Adult Literature Evades the Theorists,” “from 1980-1995 . . .
not a single major theorist in the field deals with young adult literature as something
separate from literature for younger children.” (5). Occasionally examined in journals
that focus on Children’s Literature, Young Adult Literature is a distinct and separate
genre that merits scholarly attention.
What little critical writing that exists comes mostly from scholars in education,
psychology and library science. These scholars, such as Amy Bowles-Reyer and Michael
Cart, have made major contributions by recognizing the significance and influence of this
genre. Bowles-Reyer’s dissertation (1998) examines the influence of 1970’s era feminism
on Young Adult texts,2 and Michael Cart’s history of Young Adult literature (1996) is an
informative and concise overview.3 Both of these studies situate and classify Young
Adult fictions according to social era or decade, a useful and necessary categorization.
Another groundbreaking work is Roberta Seelinger Trites’ Disturbing the Universe:
Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature (2000), which examines 20th century
texts through a Foucauldian lens. Her work examines common themes found in Young
Adult texts and analyzes how the narratives uphold or subvert institutional, social and
individual power. Trites’ study moves beyond the categorization of texts by era, and
instead groups books according to theme, content and narrative structure. She addresses
gender and sexuality in a chapter subtitled “Sex and Power in Adolescent Novels,” but
2