Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Theses and Dissertations 3-30-2019 Who Am I Really?: Questioning the Patriarchal “Girl World” to Find Identity in Mean Girls, Heathers the Musical, and Carrie: The Musical Megan Renner Illinois State University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Renner, Megan, "Who Am I Really?: Questioning the Patriarchal “Girl World” to Find Identity in Mean Girls, Heathers the Musical, and Carrie: The Musical" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 1082. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/1082 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. WHO AM I REALLY?: QUESTIONING THE PATRIARCHAL “GIRL WORLD” TO FIND IDENTITY IN MEAN GIRLS, HEATHERS THE MUSICAL, AND CARRIE: THE MUSICAL MEGAN RENNER 105 Pages Both musicals and stories about teenage girls are genres that tend to be overlooked by scholars, and to not receive serious analysis. Some scholars may dismiss these genres as being shallow and unworthy of scrutiny through a critical lens. However, much may be learned about patriarchal influence on teenage girls in musicals such as Mean Girls, Heathers the Musical and Carrie: The Musical. This thesis analyzes the patriarchal influence on the teen girl characters in these three musicals, using Girl Studies and feminist theory. This study applies arguments that state that patriarchal influence is what causes girls to form cliques, in order for them to feel powerful in a world that disenfranchises them, and applies it to these musicals.