TWEENING THE GIRL: THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE TWEEN MARKET 1980-1996 by Natalie Coulter MA, University of Guelph 1997 BA, Trent University 1994 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the School of Communications © Natalie Coulter 2009 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Natalie Coulter Degree: Doctorate of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Tweening the girl: The Crystallization of the tween market 1980-1996 Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Alison Beale Professor ______________________________________ Dr. Stephen Kline Senior Supervisor Professor ______________________________________ Dr. Catherine Murray Supervisor Professor ______________________________________ Dr. Dawn Currie External Examiner Professor University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: May 22, 2009 ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Simon Fraser University Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Last update: Spring 2010 ABSTRACT While it was the phenomenal commercial success of the girl band, the Spice Girls, in the mid-1990s that legitimized the tween girl as a viable and lucrative market segment; it was really during the 1980s - precisely the moment she should have been ignored - that the tween persona crystallized as a specific, segmented marketing niche carved out of the transitory and transformational spaces between childhood and adolescence. She is an image of a transitional girlhood that is sold to both the mediated marketplace and to girls themselves. The tween as a category represents the targeting of a new consumer subjectivity, particularly the upaging of the child, the downaging of the teen, but also the reclamation of girlhood as a site of consumer autonomy and power. The tween girl I argue is a commercial persona which exists in the marketplace as an historical site of identity work. She is the personification of a market segment that crystallizes as the segment is defined, honed and traded within the dynamic interchanges of the mediated marketplace (advertising, marketing, merchandising, retail and the media). The tween is also a key cultural resource through which girls reaching their maturity come to negotiate their lives as transitional consumers. This thesis is a historical case study of the crystallization of the tween persona in the synergistic circuitries of the mediated marketplace that uses a historical discourse analysis of industry trade publications and retrospective interviews with suburban tweens as the primary modes of analysis. While most works on the tween focus on the 1990s, this thesis uncovers how the crystallization of the tween is firmly rooted in the context of the twentieth century as the marketplace solidified the child and the teen consumers, and the 1980s which were a period of dramatic changes in the landscape of media culture and social upheaval for the middle class as more mothers joined the workforce, dramatically shifting girls’ roles in their families and their access to family resources. Meanwhile, challenged by the presence of girls in the marketplace, feminism was forced to recalibrate its relationship to both the girl and consumer culture, opening new opportunities for plurality. In unravelling the historical discourses about the tween and its links to feminism, this thesis adds to the field of Girls’ Studies by addressing how a iii category of girlhood was organized and produced by the mediated marketplace and how girls engaged with this persona in the context of 1980’s suburbia. Keywords: Tween, Girl’s Culture, Market Segments, Feminism, Consumer Culture, Advertising, Marketing, Marketing History. Subject Terms: Girls Studies, Teenage Girls, Girls in Popular Culture, Child Consumers, Teenage Consumers, Children -- History, Adolescence -- History, Advertising -- Social Aspects. iv DEDICATION To Troy, my parents and the rest of my family and friends who always believed in me, especially when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Words cannot express how much you have given me over the years. And to the Spice Girls, for starting me on this path. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This has been a long and tedious process throughout which I had much support. Like every great accomplishment this could not have been done with out the encouragement of all of my loved ones. There is a little piece of all of you in this work. On a personal level, I would like to give a big thanks to my parents Marie and Ken Coulter who have supported me in ways too numerous to count. I am so blessed to be your daughter. And to my incredible husband Troy who put up with this project, encouraged me and loved me when I needed it the most. I also need to thank my daughter Maeve who put things in perspective, my sister Lorna who was always there with an encouraging word and my amazing Aunt Cathy who came through with some last minute editing. My Uncle Cecil would have loved to have seen this finished, as too would my Mother-in-Law Beverley Hammond. I miss you both dearly and I know you would both be proud. Thank you to all of my extended family who have encouraged me and taken an interest in this project over the years. I also want to thank all of my friends who cheered me on and supported me in a myriad of ways including providing me with a workspace and looking after my daughters; here’s to you Dorie, Shelley, Laurel, Victoria, Amanda, Karen and all my neighbours on Currie Ave. And thank you for never saying to me “aren’t you done that thing yet?” but instead offering your support. Professionally, I must thank my dedicated advisors Stephen Kline and Catherine Murray who supported this project from the beginning and have provided invaluable advice and encouragement over the many years of this project. Also I would like to thank Zoe Druick who agreed to be a committee member at the eleventh hour and both the reviewers of this dissertation Dawn Currie and Özlem Sensoy. I owe you all a tremendous amount of gratitude. I must also acknowledge the enormous support of my friends and colleagues in the department of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier and the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. To my academic colleagues and friends Christine LeNouvel, Anne Marie Kinahan and Mark Ihnat who provided a sympathetic ear when I most needed it and to my confidants in my writing club who ended the loneliness of this process, I thank you. And to those that I vi interviewed, who took time out of their busy lives, opened up and provided honest answers, and waited and waited for a final product I thank you. Finally to Cambie, who as an unborn baby gave me the final push to finish this thing, I thank you.