Girl Talk: An Exploration of Gender, Sexuality, and the Media

This study will utilize a critical ethnographic approach to explore the social construction of adolescent girls’ sexualities by adults in the youth residential services system. A critical component of this proposal is the collection of historical and contemporary media resources and material that would be used as a touchstone for eliciting responses from staff members participating in our focused group discussions and internet forum. Observations, focused group discussions, and an interactive participatory web forum with residential services staff will focus on how staff conceptualize, and exert control over youth sexualities. Results will be shared with a panel of experts via a public symposium that will draw upon local and national expertise. This forum will provide the feedback and transformational knowledge needed to develop a platform for future grant proposals and a research cluster on the critical theories of gender, sexuality, and social control.