The Extra-Ordinary Girl Under Neoliberalism, On and Off Screen: How Teen Girls in Toronto Negotiate Care, Connection, and Figurations of Girlhood

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dc.contributor.advisorCowdy, Cheryl
dc.contributor.authorBenigno, Tina Belinda
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-15T15:27:09Z
dc.date.available2021-11-15T15:27:09Z
dc.date.copyright2021-07
dc.date.issued2021-11-15
dc.date.updated2021-11-15T15:27:09Z
dc.degree.disciplineHumanities
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis work examines the extra-ordinary girl as she exists under neoliberalismm today. The extra-ordinary girl in this dissertation refers to the girl with a public presence who has great physical, mental and/or social power. Through a combination of qualitative research group interviews with teen girls in Toronto, and textual and cultural analyses of figurations of girlhood in popular culture, I emphasize the importance of listening to real teen girls whose perspectives and values might not match those attributed to dominant cultural models of girlhood. I explore contemporary girl figures and figurations of girlhood, on and off screen, highlighting how girls who are not in the public eye negotiate standards of exceptionality in relation to their own experiences of social power, while also defining the importance of care and connection to their relationships and personal values. Katniss from The Hunger Games and Sabrina from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina are two case examples within contemporary YA speculative fiction film and TV of an extra-ordinary teen girl protagonist. These two cases of the extra-ordinary girl the warrior-activist and the witch share some common traits rooted in an ethic of care. Moreover, these two character types are compelling for the ways they reflect social practices that real girls also engage in: activism and alternative spirituality. The fictional representations of extra-ordinary girlhood have a dialogic relationship with cultural-historical practices of girls who are visible activists, and with those who are increasingly interested in alternative spirituality. Both figures not only wield their exceptional power to effect social change, but they also become models for popular media to co-opt and appropriate into an extra-ordinary girl figure. For the girls in my study, the extra-ordinariness of the characters, like the extraordinariness of the activist discussed in our sessions, is understood within the context of care and connection. While the girls I interviewed value relationships and community, their underlying feelings of needing to work on being braver and more confident reveal internalized neoliberal messages. In my analysis of coming of age and figurations of extra-ordinary girlhood, I illuminate the complexity of care under neoliberalism for the teen girl today.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/38700
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectFilm studies
dc.subject.keywordshumanities
dc.subject.keywordsgirls
dc.subject.keywordsyouth
dc.subject.keywordschildren
dc.subject.keywordschildhood
dc.subject.keywordsfilm
dc.subject.keywordscinema
dc.subject.keywordsscreen
dc.subject.keywordsmedia
dc.subject.keywordsneoliberalism
dc.subject.keywordscare
dc.subject.keywordsconnection
dc.subject.keywordsextraordinary girlhood
dc.subject.keywordsexceptional girlhood
dc.subject.keywordsgender
dc.subject.keywordsliterature
dc.subject.keywordsgenre
dc.subject.keywordsmeaning
dc.subject.keywordsmedia-making
dc.subject.keywordsfuturity
dc.subject.keywordsliminality
dc.subject.keywordsbecoming
dc.subject.keywordsneoliberal feminism
dc.subject.keywordsfeminism
dc.subject.keywordspostfeminism
dc.subject.keywordsyouth culture
dc.subject.keywordsculture
dc.subject.keywordscultural studies
dc.subject.keywordsTV
dc.subject.keywordstelevision
dc.subject.keywordswitch
dc.subject.keywordswitches
dc.subject.keywordspagan
dc.subject.keywordswarrior
dc.subject.keywordsactivist
dc.subject.keywordsactivism
dc.subject.keywordsyouth activism
dc.subject.keywordsgirl activism
dc.subject.keywordsgirl activists
dc.subject.keywordsalternative spirituality
dc.subject.keywordscrystal healing
dc.subject.keywordscapitalism
dc.subject.keywordspopular feminism
dc.subject.keywordscommunication
dc.subject.keywordsqualitative research
dc.subject.keywordsmixed methods
dc.subject.keywordsmethods
dc.subject.keywordsqualitative methods
dc.subject.keywordsyouth research
dc.subject.keywordsfocus groups
dc.subject.keywordsinterviews
dc.subject.keywordsgroup interviews
dc.subject.keywordsvideo elicitation interview
dc.subject.keywordsvideo elicitation
dc.subject.keywordsformal analysis
dc.subject.keywordsclose analysis
dc.subject.keywordstextual analysis
dc.subject.keywordscultural analysis
dc.subject.keywordsconsumerism
dc.subject.keywordsadaptation
dc.subject.keywordsyoung adult film
dc.subject.keywordsyoung adult TV
dc.subject.keywordsYA
dc.subject.keywordsyoung adult
dc.subject.keywordsyoung adult adaptation
dc.subject.keywordsYA adaptation
dc.subject.keywordsgothic
dc.subject.keywordshorror
dc.subject.keywordsdystopia
dc.subject.keywordsspeculative fiction
dc.subject.keywordsscience fiction
dc.subject.keywordssupernatural
dc.subject.keywordsextraordinary
dc.subject.keywordsexceptionality
dc.subject.keywordsexceptional
dc.subject.keywordsgirlhood
dc.subject.keywordsfilm analysis
dc.subject.keywordsToronto
dc.subject.keywordsCanada
dc.subject.keywordsteen girls
dc.subject.keywordsmoral panic
dc.subject.keywordsteens
dc.subject.keywordsteenagers
dc.subject.keywordsMarch for Our Lives
dc.subject.keywordsFridays for Future
dc.subject.keywordsclimate crisis
dc.subject.keywordspower
dc.subject.keywordssocial power
dc.subject.keywordspublic visibility
dc.subject.keywordscreative project
dc.subject.keywordsfan activism
dc.subject.keywordsvulnerability
dc.subject.keywordsrevolutionary
dc.subject.keywordsprogressive
dc.subject.keywordspopular show
dc.subject.keywordspopular culture
dc.subject.keywordspopular media
dc.subject.keywordshistory
dc.subject.keywordssociology
dc.subject.keywordssocial structure
dc.subject.keywordssystemic
dc.subject.keywordssocial change
dc.subject.keywordssocial justice
dc.subject.keywordsconfidence
dc.subject.keywordsself-improvement
dc.subject.keywordspublic persona
dc.subject.keywordsprivate
dc.subject.keywordspublic
dc.subject.keywordscelebrity
dc.subject.keywordscommodity
dc.subject.keywordscommodity activism
dc.subject.keywordsempowerment
dc.subject.keywordsgirl power
dc.subject.keywordssocial responsibility
dc.subject.keywordslabour
dc.subject.keywordsrisk
dc.subject.keywordsclass
dc.subject.keywordssocial class
dc.subject.keywordseconomic class
dc.subject.keywordsincome
dc.subject.keywordscommunity
dc.subject.keywordsarts
dc.subject.keywordseducation
dc.subject.keywordsschool
dc.subject.keywordshigh school
dc.subject.keywordsrecorded interviews
dc.subject.keywordsinductive
dc.subject.keywordsfigurations
dc.subject.keywordsfigures
dc.subject.keywordsmaterial world
dc.subject.keywordsmateriality
dc.subject.keywordssymbolic
dc.subject.keywordsdefiance
dc.subject.keywordsrebellion
dc.subject.keywordsHunger Games
dc.subject.keywordsChilling Adventures of Sabrina
dc.subject.keywordsmedia production
dc.subject.keywordsparticipatory action research
dc.subject.keywordsparticipatory research
dc.subject.keywordsPAR
dc.subject.keywordsoppression
dc.subject.keywordsprofit
dc.subject.keywordsNorth America
dc.subject.keywordsindividualism
dc.subject.keywordsinterdisciplinary
dc.subject.keywordstransmedia
dc.subject.keywordsschools
dc.titleThe Extra-Ordinary Girl Under Neoliberalism, On and Off Screen: How Teen Girls in Toronto Negotiate Care, Connection, and Figurations of Girlhood
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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