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A consideration of menstruation in the lives of teenage girls—and in the lives of teenage boys.
Girls in Power offers a fascinating and unique look at the social aspects of menstruation in the lives of adolescent girls-and also in the lives of adolescent boys. Although there has been much research on other aspects of gender and the body, this is one of the few books to examine menstruation and the first to explore how it plays a part in power interactions between boys and girls. Talking openly in single- and mixed-gender settings, individuals and groups of high school–age girls and boys share their interpretations and experiences of menstruation. Author Laura Fingerson reveals that while teens have negative feelings about menstruation, teen girls use their experiences of menstruation as a source of embodied power in their interactions with other girls and with boys. She also explores how boys deal with their own reduced power. The book extends our theoretical and analytical understanding of youth, gender, power, and embodiment by providing a more balanced view of adolescent social life.
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
Menstruation is...
Salient Body Experiences
The Teen Participants
The Interviewers
Analysis of the Data
Organization of This Book
2. Negative and Ambivalent Experiences
Concealment and Shame
The Horrors of Leaking
"Why I Never Carry a Purse"
The Body as Actor
What If It Gets Stuck?
Tampax Ads in a Room Full of Boys
The Checkout Boy
"Surfin’ the Crimson Wave"
"It’s Not a Big Deal"
3. Cultural Contexts
Cultural History of Menstruation
Concealment and Hygiene
Taboos
Contemporary Views and Advice
Historical Context of Health and Medicine
Schools
The Family
Media, Advertising, and Merchandising
4. Medicalization and Gender Politics of the Body
Medicalization of Menstruation
Fifth-Grade Health Class
Menstruation as a Reproductive Issue
What About the Blood?
Every Single Month Forever and Ever
Menstrual Suppression?
The Value of Female Bodies
What If Men Could Menstruate?
Understanding Gender
Living in Our Bodies
5. Girls in Power
Agency and Power
Creatively Responding to Dominant Social Norms
Forging Connections
"I Don’t Think Boys Could Handle It"
Menstruation Is Social
Getting "It" &nbs