Video artist and writer Kathleen Sweeney gave a multimedia presentation called "Maiden USA" about the evolution of the iconic American teenage girl on February 21 at Hamilton. Sweeney has been studying the teenage girl icon in popular culture for 10 years, and mentors young women the Seattle filmmaking program "Reel Grrls" to help them express their vision of what it means to be a teenage girl.
In recent years there has been an increase in the amount pop culture media narratives where teenage girls are front and center, said Sweeney. Also, she said, with digital media, the volume of media such as films has increased and become more accessible. The iconic image of the teenage girl that we have today has come a long way from the original Barbie doll of 1959 or the images shown on the cover of "American Girl" magazine in the early 60s. Sweeney showed these images, and then contrasted them with some images of the more sexualized teenage girls of
today such as Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. As Sweeney pointed out, Aguilera and Spears are packaged Disney products, just like Ariel in "The Little Mermaid." Disney has always depicted teenage girl heroines, from Snow White and Cindarella to Pocahontas and Mulan.
Sweeney discussed some of the major roles that teenage girls inhabit in popular media. One is the icon of the "screaming girl," whether it be hysterical Beatlemaniacs or stupid victims in horror films. Another typical role is that of the "girl in crisis," echoing the idea that girls need to be rescued. In recent films such as "Cruel Intentions" or "Mean Girls," Sweeney said, the image of teenage girls is as backstabbing and pathologically cruel. The media generally fails to show
completely supportive relationships between teenage girls. Finally, teenage girls have become the object of an eroticized gaze, not only of other teens, but of adults as well. Sweeney speculated that these unkind and objectified portrayals of girls in the media may have something to do with the underrepresentation of women in the television and film industries.
In fact, in recent years adults have become obsessed with knowing about and understanding teenage sexuality, Sweeney said. She showed examples of books and articles to help adults understand teenage girls and their sexuality, and magazines chronicling the scandalous lives of young starlets. There are also more and more teenage sexuality in television and movies that are marketed to all ages. Lastly, Sweeney discussed how the distinction between "girl" and "woman" has been blurred in pop culture in recent years. The coming of age process has been packaged and marketed, with teenage girls such as the Olsen twins and Lindsay Lohan becoming sex symbols as soon as they become legal.
After her lecture and some discussion with the audience, Sweeney screened several short films made by the young women she mentors at "Reel Grrls" in Seattle. The films addressed the girls' feelings about their place in the world and what it means to be a teenage girl. Sweeney says the only way to increase the representation of women in the television and film industries is to mentor young girls in media
literacy and the art of filmmaking.
by Caroline R. O'Shea '07
