The diaries of adolescent girls

Abstract

Notwithstanding the popularity of The Diary of Adrian Mole, there does not seem to be much evidence for the fact that large numbers of adolescent boys keep diaries or journals. Certainly, it is a fact that there are fewer published boys diaries than published girls diaries, which is the reverse of case of published men's versus women's diaries. Why is it that the genre, at least at the adolescent age level, seems to be a predominately female form? First and foremost, it seems to be a matter of socialization. Men view writing as instrumental, whereas women view it as expressive, and this point of view is formed in adolescence. Boys are sent out to participate actively in work or sports. Society has long defined the female sphere as that of the home and family; women thus have the right to forge the links of communications that hold families together. This includes extensive correspondence as well as the keeping of diaries and memoirs, which frequently serve as genealogical and historical records for the family. Also, the tradition well into the nineteenth century was to educate the girls at home. Since they were not allowed out into the world, what were they to write about but the affairs of their daily lives and the romantic dreams and yearnings they experienced as they grew from girlhood to womanhood. For both these reasons it has always been “all right” for girls to sit quietly and scribble in a book. One of the exceptions, however, and perhaps it is an illuminating exception, was the eminent psycho-analyst C.G. Jung. He not only kept adolescent diaries, but kept them for the same reasons most adolescent girls give for doing so. Jung kept his diary as the one place where he could indulge in the expression, exploration and affirmation of self. He considered his journal a private place where he could express himself freely, without fear of comment or interference from others. But Jung is the exception that proves the rule. In an informal survey of some twenty to thirty people studying women's personal chronicles, all agreed that more girls than boys do keep diaries, but the reason for this seemed somewhat elusive. A man, when queried, remembered that a grandfather had kept a diary—a document that was regarded by the family with some pride; it was an account of some kind of trip of exploration. One woman knew of two teen-age boys who had been persuaded to keep diaries by their mother—but it was today, in the 1980s atmosphere where boys are being socialized to become more responsive, caring and expressive individuals. The typical reaction is that recounted by another woman who had tried to get her son to keep a diary. His disdain was total: “Diaries are sissy things.”