No Boundaries?: Girls' Interactive, Online Learning About Femininities

• NCJ Number: 215936
• Journal: Youth & Society Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 3-28
• Author(s): Deirdre M. Kelly; Shauna Pomerantz; Dawn H. Currie
• Date Published: September 2006
• Length: 26 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examined the online experiences of adolescent girls in Vancouver, Canada as they dealt with issues surrounding femininity in Internet chat rooms, instant messages, and multiplayer role-playing games.

Abstract

Overall, the findings indicated that girls enjoyed playing with their gender online, particularly in ways that could be construed as being gender rebellious. The anonymity of the Internet allowed the girls to practice taking more initiative in heterosexual relationships, which they viewed as unacceptable in “real life” due to gendered expectations. Girls in the study reported trying a variety of femininities that ranged from conventional femininity to rebelliously masculine. Some of the girls reported that in order to gain attention online, they needed to present a persona that embodied sexual objectification. Some of the girls battled sexual harassment online while never actually challenging the underlying power inequalities. In their analysis of these findings, the authors note that while the girls certainly played with their gender and pushed the boundaries of conventional femininity, it was done in an apolitical manner that failed to confront and transform gendered power relations. The task of feminists and other social justice discourses is to define the girls’ experiences and link them to the ongoing quest for gender equality. Participants were 16 girls between the ages of 13 and 16 years in Vancouver, Canada who completed hours-long, semi-structured interviews as part of a larger research study about the processes that empower girls at school. In addition to asking about Internet habits, the girls were also asked about their knowledge of feminism and inequalities based on race, class, and sexuality. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emerging themes. Suggestions are offered for teachers on how to teach about gender and power issues. Notes, references