Towards a More Critical, Politicized Girlhood Studies

Abstract

We take the title of our editorial introduction to this themed issue of Girlhood Studies from Sandrina de Finney’s lead article in which she explores “alternative conceptualizations of trauma, place, and girlhood that might enact a more critical, politicized girlhood studies.” Contributions to this issue offer what the guest editors refer to as a re-description of girls in crisis. In so doing not only do they offer challenges to definitions of crisis, they also deepen our understanding of what transformative practices might look like. From a consideration of Indigenous girlhood in Canada to a study of country girls in Australia, from work on YouTube to Holloback! and other social media platforms to girls’ digital representations of their own safety, and from changes in newspaper discourse about murdered girls to a consideration of work done with incarcerated girls, we are invited to re-think this notion of girls-in-crisis, and its significance. These contributions come out of an international invitational symposium, Girlhood and the Politics of Place, convened by the Institute of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, McGill University from 10 to 12 October 2012, held in conjunction with the first International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October. The event drew together researchers from Canada, the US and Australia, along with members of community organizations, policy-makers and, importantly, girls themselves. The symposium focused on the sparking of dialogue about the politics of place in relation to girlhood in different ways, and on how to work effectively across such disciplinary areas as Education, Health, Media Studies, Art History and Literary Studies. We thank Carrie Rentschler, Director of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies for her contribution as a guest editor to the success of this issue which we think is a remarkable example of coherence across a number of different disciplinary areas.