Representations of Female Adolescence in the Teen Makeover Film

<p>This thesis proposes to analyse the representation of female adolescence in the contemporary teen makeover film. The study will situate this body of films within the context of the current postfeminist age, which I will argue has bred specific fears both of and for the female adolescent. This thesis will examine the construction of the initial wayward makeover protagonist, paying attention to why she needs to be trained in an idealised gender performance that has as its urgent goal the assurance of heteronormativity and 'healthy' sex role power relations. I will also analyse the representation of deviant adolescent female characters in terms of how their particular brand of postfeminist female masquerade masks a power and status-oriented agenda. The behaviour of these characters is shown to impact negatively on the peer group within the film, and is particularly dangerous as it threatens to negate the need for romance.</p>

Representations of Female Adolescence in the Teen Makeover Film

<p>This thesis proposes to analyse the representation of female adolescence in the contemporary teen makeover film. The study will situate this body of films within the context of the current postfeminist age, which I will argue has bred specific fears both of and for the female adolescent. This thesis will examine the construction of the initial wayward makeover protagonist, paying attention to why she needs to be trained in an idealised gender performance that has as its urgent goal the assurance of heteronormativity and 'healthy' sex role power relations. I will also analyse the representation of deviant adolescent female characters in terms of how their particular brand of postfeminist female masquerade masks a power and status-oriented agenda. The behaviour of these characters is shown to impact negatively on the peer group within the film, and is particularly dangerous as it threatens to negate the need for romance.</p>

The Indian Girl-Wife: Not Even a Woman, But Already a Wife

The institution of child marriage throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century not only stripped Indian girls of their agency, but also frequently denied them their education. In 1884, Rukhmabai, a young Indian girl of just eleven-years-old, was married to Dadaji Bhikaji, a man eight years older. Although Rukhmabai was able to resist the forced marriage and eventually went on to become India’s first female doctor, Rukhmabai’s victory was generally an anomaly of the time and reflected a tenacity to attain greater education. Throughout her writings, Rukhmabai expresses deep sadness from being denied the opportunity for an adequate education, and identifies female education as one of the chief disproportionate impacts of child marriage for girls. This project will trace the evolution of child marriage negotiations from the 1891 Age of Consent Act to the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act, specifically addressing the way that related discussions allowed Indian women to establish the importance of their adolescent years in their educational pursuit. By uncovering the voices of both child marriage victims and female reformers, we are able to garner an understanding of the changing Indian social landscape at the time and the way that Indian women negotiated their agency against the backdrop of globalization, the nationalist agenda, and caste, religious, and regional differences. This project will stress female adolescence as an evolving concept throughout twentieth century India, and will draw on the important relationship between education and female agency.

“I have never seen something like that”: Discrepancies between lived experiences and the global health concept of child marriage in northern Tanzania

Background The concept of ‘child marriage’ in global health distinguishes ostensibly harmful from healthy ages to marry at a universally-applied threshold of 18-years. With intensifying efforts to end child marriage, targeted communities are increasingly asked to change their perception of such marriages from relatively benign to profoundly problematic. The objective of this study is to understand how this shift in perception is navigated by adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Methods Using qualitative data collected in 2019 from a semi-urban community in Tanzania where marriage under 18-years is common and campaigns to end child marriage ongoing, we contrast reports of lived experiences of marriage under 18-years among AGYW to views of child marriage as an abstract concept. Thirteen in-depth interviews with AGYW, as part of a wider qualitative study, were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a framework analysis approach. Results While many AGYW had heard of child marriage, the concept was routinely conflated with forced marriage, which is rare in the community, and non-marital teenage sex and pregnancy, which are common. As a likely consequence, participants disagreed on whether or not child marriage occurs locally. Furthermore, accounts of real-life marriages under 18 sometimes aligned with, but often departed from, common narratives about the purported causes and harmful consequences inherent to the global health concept of child marriage. Conclusions We argue that engaging with diverse local views and experiences of marrying young is essential to producing culturally-sensitive, effective initiatives addressing the vulnerabilities of female adolescence.

Disparities in Accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services at the Intersection of Disability and Female Adolescence in Tanzania

Despite at times having greater needs for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, adolescents with disabilities often face challenges when trying to access them. This inaccessibility is further exacerbated during female adolescence. The qualitative study examines how SRH services respond to the characteristics of Tanzanian adolescent females with disabilities. We used the method of empathy-based stories to investigate the perceptions of 136 adolescent females with disabilities of their access to SRH services in Tanzania. The study used thematic content analysis and the Levesque model of health care access was applied as an analytical framework. The results demonstrate that discrimination affects access at different phases of care-seeking, that affectionate behaviour of providers is a central enabler of access, and that for this population access relies on a collective effort. We propose that affection, as an enabler of access, is as an additional provider dimension of access to SRH services for adolescents with disabilities, serving as a “reasonable accommodation” to the health care systems in southern contexts and beyond.

RESILIENSI REMAJA PUTRI KORBAN BULLYING DI SEMARANG: STUDY DESKRIPTIF

This study aimed to describe the resilience level of female adolescence who experienced as bullying victim. A crossectional design and descriptive approach were selected. About 329 female adolescence who experienced as bullied at some high school at Semarang city, Indonesia were recruited as respondent using purposive sampling technique. The Adolescence Resilience Scale was used to measure the resilience levels. Results showed that 48.93% respondent reached the high level of resilience; 41.34% respondents the middle; and only 9.73% respondents had the lower of resilience. Therefore, partnership between school nurses, school personnel, and parents are necessary to develop the anti-bullying program as holistic interventions; hence it can depress the negative impact of bullying by increasing the bullying victim’s resilience. Keywords: Resilience, bullying, female adolescence, Indonesia