HOW PREADOLESCENT GIRLS CONSUME and PRODUCE MEDIA in 21St CENTURY AMERICA
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Master's Theses Graduate School 2011 BECOMING BODIES: HOW PREADOLESCENT GIRLS CONSUME AND PRODUCE MEDIA IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA Margaret Louise McGladrey University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation McGladrey, Margaret Louise, "BECOMING BODIES: HOW PREADOLESCENT GIRLS CONSUME AND PRODUCE MEDIA IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA" (2011). University of Kentucky Master's Theses. 102. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/102 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF THESIS BECOMING BODIES: HOW PREADOLESCENT GIRLS CONSUME AND PRODUCE MEDIA IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA This study investigates preadolescent girls‟ interpretations of images of and messages about women‟s bodies presented in both traditional and online media in the American cultural context. Using qualitative methods including in-depth interviews, email diaries, and digital photo collages, this study gives voice to girls aged nine to eleven from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds so that they might tell their stories about interacting with media that is relevant to their relationships with their bodies. Employing objectification theory as well as concepts from the cultural studies tradition, the findings suggest that the process of becoming a female body in the 21st-century American media environment is far more complex than a simple linear, cause-effect equation can express. Differences among girls in terms of media use, degree of media criticism, age, and interpersonal discursive environments moderate their relationships to mediated imagery and to their bodies. The findings also describe the mediated bodily ideal that is most relevant to preadolescent girls, the celebrity girls who embody this ideal, the ways in which girls experience self- objectification and body surveillance, and the nature of girls‟ conversations with friends and family members about body-related topics. The study concludes by providing recommendations to concerned researchers, educators, and parents. KEYWORDS: Girls‟ Studies, Objectification Theory, New Media, Body Dissatisfaction, Qualitative Research Methods Multimedia Elements Used: JPEG (.jpg) Margaret Louise McGladrey April 28, 2011 BECOMING BODIES: HOW PREADOLESCENT GIRLS CONSUME AND PRODUCE MEDIA IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA By Margaret Louise McGladrey Dr. Thomas R. Lindlof Director of Thesis Dr. Timothy L. Sellnow Director of Graduate Studies April 28, 2011 RULES FOR THE USE OF THESIS Unpublished theses submitted for the Master‟s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the thesis in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this thesis for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date THESIS Margaret Louise McGladrey The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2011 BECOMING BODIES: HOW PREADOLESCENT GIRLS CONSUME AND PRODUCE MEDIA IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA THESIS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the College of Communications and Information Studies at the University of Kentucky By Margaret Louise McGladrey Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Thomas Lindlof, Professor of Telecommunications Lexington, Kentucky 2011 Copyright © Margaret Louise McGladrey 2011 To the girls who participated in this study, for sharing their stories and giving me hope for the future of American girlhood ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although the following thesis emerged from deeply personal experiences and commitments, my ability to pursue this project and follow my passion would not have been possible without the support of my thesis committee. First, I thank Dr. Tom Lindlof for serving as the Chair of my committee and providing the perfect combination of guidance and free-reign throughout the process. I also thank Drs. Michael Arrington and Deborah Chung for serving on the committee and offering important support and encouragement of this project and my academic pursuits in general. Additionally, I thank Dr. Karen Tice, whose brilliant theoretical approaches to the social construction of the body in neoliberal contexts informed much of my thinking, research questions, and interpretation. In addition, Scott Johnson provided me with the technical support and hardware that made the digital data collection methods used in this thesis feasible. I cannot adequately show my appreciation for the Girl Scouts of Kentucky‟s Wilderness Road Council and the organization‟s willingness to allow me to recruit participants from its troops. Words also fail to express my gratitude to the girls who participated in this study and their parents who made their participation possible. I treasure the time I was able to spend with each and every participant, and I am inspired by their intelligence, insights, and creativity. Finally, I thank the members of my family and friends who have encouraged me to pursue this project despite setbacks and tribulations. Specifically, I thank my parents for their undying support and love throughout my life. In this endeavor and in all things, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my husband, Matt, for his encouragement, thoughtful reviews and comments on my work, patience, and ceaseless belief in me even when I did not believe in myself. With him, all things are possible. Thank you all for your contributions to this project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………… .iii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Files……………………………………………………………………………….viii Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Discussion of the Problem ............................................................................................................. 1 Girls‟ Media Environment ......................................................................................................... 4 Chapter Two: ObjectificationTheory ................................................................................................ 8 Overview of Objectification Theory and Research .................................................................... 8 Media Exposure as a Sexually Objectifying Experience ...................................................... 10 Objectification Theory‟s Applicability to Preadolescents and Adolescents ..................... 11 Media Exposure as a Sexual Objectification Experience for Preadolescents .................. 13 Key Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 14 Chapter Three: Media Discourses and Girls‟ Culture ................................................................... 20 Tracing Girls‟ Studies .................................................................................................................... 21 Why the Curvaceously Thin Ideal? ............................................................................................. 25 How Girls Negotiate their Relationships to the Curvaceously Thin Ideal in the New Media Environment ...................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter Four: Methods ..................................................................................................................... 41 The Participants ............................................................................................................................. 42 The Researcher as Instrument ..................................................................................................... 44 The Dynamics of the Researcher-Participant Relationship ..................................................... 47 Recruitment .................................................................................................................................... 54 Protocol ........................................................................................................................................... 58 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 63 Interpretation ................................................................................................................................. 63 Chapter Five: Findings Regarding Girls‟ Interpretations of Mediated Imagery ....................... 65 The Form and Content of Girls‟ Media Usage ......................................................................... 65 What is Ideal? Curvaceously Thin vs. Just-Right ...................................................................... 86 iv Disney Girls and the Manufacturing of the Tween Beauty