Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-194), filmography (195-198), discography (pages 199-200) and index.
Contents:
Introduction: who is the tween? -- The reconciliation of femininity and feminism -- Narratives of celebrity -- Narratives of father-daughter transformation -- Growing up female with Miley Cyrus, Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana -- Falling in love with the Jonas Brothers -- Conclusion: doing tweenhood.
Summary:
A powerful female, pre-adolescent, consumer demographic has emerged in tandem with girls becoming more visible in popular culture since the 1990s. Yet the cultural anxiety that this has caused has received scant academic attention. In Tweenhood, Melanie Kennedy rectifies this and examines mainstream pre-adolescent girls' films, television programmes and celebrities from 2004 onwards, including A Cinderella story, Hannah Montana and Camp Rock. Her book forges a dialogue between postfeminism, film and television, celebrity and most importantly, the figure of the tween. Kennedy examines how these media texts, which are so key to tween culture, address and construct their target audience by helping them to 'choose' an appropriately feminine identity. Tweenhood then, she argues, is transient and a discursive construct whose unpacking highlights the deification of celebrity and femininity within its culture.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.