Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls-Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins [Hardcover]

Leonard Sax (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2010

Girls are cutting themselves with razors. Girls are convinced they’re fat, and starve themselves to prove it. Other girls are so anxious about grades they can’t sleep at night—at eleven years of age. What’s going on? In Girls on the Edge, Dr. Leonard Sax provides the answers. He shares stories of girls who look confident and strong on the outside, but are fragile within. He shows why a growing proportion of teen and tween girls are confused about their sexual identity, or are obsessed with grades or Facebook. Dr. Sax provides parents with tools to help girls become confident women, along with practical tips on helping your daughter choose a sport, nurturing her spirit through female centered activities, and more. Compelling and inspiring, Girls on the Edge points the way to a new future for today’s young women.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Boys Adrift (2007), Sax, a family physician and psychologist with more than 20 years of experience, explored the disturbing trend of young men who are disengaged from their lives. In this companion volume, he turns to the other half of the population and identifies four factors that are threatening the mental and physical health of young women today: a culture that sexualizes young girls; the “cyberbubble” of social networking and electronic communication; obsessive behaviors, including eating disorders; and environmental toxins that disrupt the endocrine system and lead to early-onset puberty. In clear, accessible language, Sax deftly blends anecdotes, clinical research, and even lines of poetry in persuasive, often fascinating chapters that speak straight to parents; in the book’s second half, he offers practical ideas for nurturing girls’ minds, bodies, and spirits, from advocating for girls’ athletics programs to making room for prayer in secular households. Warning that “a 1980s solution” won’t help solve twenty-first-century problems, Sax offers a holistic, sobering call to help the current generation of young women develop the support and sense of self that will allow them to grow into resilient adults. And, finally, he counsels parents to be persistent: “Don’t back away even when she tells you to get lost.” Pair this eye-opening title with similar resources listed in the adjacent Read-alikes column, “Girl Talk, Part 2.” --Gillian Engberg

Review

Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic

"The best book about the current state of girls and young women in America, Girls on the Edge, by a physician and psychologist named Leonard Sax, offers astonishing and troubling new insight into the role and consequences of binge drinking in so many girls’ lives."

 

Booklist
“In clear, accessible language, Sax deftly blends anecdotes, clinical research, and even lines of poetry in persuasive, often fascinating chapters that speak straight to parents…Warning that ‘a 1980s solution’ won’t help solve twenty-first-century problems, Sax offers a holistic, sobering call to help the current generation of young women develop the support and sense of self that will allow them to grow into resilient adults.”

Library Journal
“The world is way different from what it was a couple of years ago; this is essential reading for parents and teachers, and one of the most thought-provoking books on teen development available.”

Slate’s Double X Book of the Week

“Fortunately, [Leonard] Sax is up to more here than pronouncing young women irrevocably doomed…Girls on the Edge doesn't dramatize the self-destructive behavior it describes…[and it] speaks exclusively to parents and offers concrete ways to help their daughters cultivate stronger personal identities.”

 

Florence Hilliard, Director of the Gender Studies Project, University of Wisconsin–Madison
“Dr. Sax once again combines years of experience with compelling research and common sense to intelligently challenge the status quo of what it means to raise a healthy daughter. Girls on the Edge offers skills parents can incorporate to feel more competent with our girls and young women.”

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, author of God’s Paintbrush and In God’s Name
“Turn off your cell phones and computers, and read this book! You will connect with your daughter in new ways, and she will thank you.”

Margaret M. Ferrara, PhD, editor of Advances in Gender and Education (A.G.E.) and associate professor, University of Nevada Reno
“Written through real stories and supported by strong evidence in the fields of education, psychology, and the sciences - a MUST read.”

Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters
“Leonard Sax brings together a rare combination of psychoanalytic training with a deep empathy for girls and their stories in this important book. His argument that girls are struggling to find their centers will resonate and his recommendations for how to locate them will inspire.”
 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 16 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465015611
• ISBN-13: 978-0465015610
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Leonard Sax MD PhD graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and then went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both a PhD in psychology, and an MD. He completed a 3-year residency in family practice at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From 1989 through 2008, he was a practicing family physician in Maryland, just outside Washington DC. In 2005, Doubleday published his first book Why Gender Matters. His second book, Boys Adrift, was published in 2007; an expanded softcover edition was published in 2009. His most recent book Girls on the Edge was published in 2010; an extensively-updated softcover edition was released in July 2011. In 2002, Dr. Sax founded the Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development (MCRCAD). In 2008, Dr Sax left medical practice to devote himself to leading MCRCAD and "to learn as much as I can about gender and education and parenting and child development." He has spoken on issues of child and adolescent development not only in the United States but also in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, and Spain. He has appeared on the TODAY Show, CNN, National Public Radio, PBS, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, New Zealand Television, and many other national and international media. When he's not visiting schools or meeting with parents, he can be found riding bicycles, hiking, and singing songs from old Broadway musicals, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul Simon with his wife and daughter in suburban Philadelphia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars couldn't put it down (my daughter is 5), haven't put this many post-its in a book for years, March 30, 2010

By 

bored99 (Hamden, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls-Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins (Hardcover)

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I can't remember the last time I stayed up this late to read a work of non-fiction. I picked up this book with a hefty dose of skepticism, and found myself entranced. Sax's insights seem spot-on and realistic, even though some of them are gender based. I'm female and work in technology at a Fortune 5 company, so things that blithely apply gender stereotypes make me seethe, but all of his observations seem realistic, insightful, research based, AND ultimately promote more choice, health, and support for girls. Who knew that cheerleading coaches don't have to be trained in how to recognize concussions, even though football coaches do? And that girls are 40 to 300 percent more likely to get concussions than boys (depending on the sport)? Ultimately this book is packed with information about girls in such a way that you can use it to empower your own children, rather than simply excusing bad behaviors with a "well, she's a girl!" label. My daughter is 5, and he directly addresses many of the issues I'm starting to wonder about, and trying to prepare to handle in the all-too-near future.

I found his discussion of sexuality to be enlightened rather than repressive, even as it supports some traditional values: "As parents, we must reject the notion that girls have to take off their clothes to empower themselves. Boys don't have to take off their clothes to empower themselves. Girls shouldn't either. / Sexuality is good, but _sexualization_ is bad. Sexuality is about your identity as a woman or a man, about feeling sexual. That's a healthy part of becoming an adult. But sexualization is about being an object for the pleasure of others, about being on display for others." He talks about the "cyberbubble" and how being constantly in touch via social network sites and IM and phones has created a different world than the one I lived in just 20 years ago, including cyberbullying. Best of all (for a mom who'll have a tween in just a few short years), he gives concrete, logical suggestions for some of the situations your child will find herself in. He talks about obsessions (weight, sports, smarts, etc.) and how vulnerable they leave your child if something happens to disrupt them (gaining/losing weight, getting a stress fracture, scoring poorly on the SAT), unless your child has a more-developed sense of identity. He also talks about environmental toxins, which surprised me somewhat--but again, he made a compelling case for it. Then he finishes with one chapter each on mind / body / spirit, giving examples on how to support your child in each area. "Mind" is about education and learning (including a need for play), "body" is about health and physical fitness, and "spirit" is about community and church (without promoting any particular religion).

Sax also did a commendable job of synthesizing and accurately depicting research. I generally find myself suspicious of authors who claim to have all the answers, or who have very-fuzzy footnotes to support key points, but Sax backs up his points with solid research (roughly 30 pages of endnotes, relegated to small type at the end of the book so they don't interfere). He also states clearly where there are cases the research is inconclusive, and when he speculates on a possible explanation, he finishes with "but we simply don't know," so the line between research and speculation is clear. I have a master's degree and enjoy reading a lot (including non-fiction and textbooks), and found his referencing solid, unlike many popular parenting books. I also read a number of points to my husband (who has a PhD in psychology and is faculty at an Ivy-league school), and he also found the points and the presentation compelling. But honestly, our best qualification is that we have a 5-year-old daughter... and this book directly addressed a number of real concerns we have as we're both trying to provide her with the best opportunities in life, and trying to prepare for the things we watch her older friends and cousins grappling with. Thank you, Sax! This book will have a very real impact on some of the decisions we're making regarding both her present and her future, some as soon as tomorrow, and several as soon as this upcoming summer as her extracurricular activities shift.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful book as a parent, based on data and facts and helps you understand the trends that have shaped your daughter's world., May 20, 2010

By 

Anjana Nigam (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls-Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins (Hardcover)

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This is a concise and well written book that has given me new material to think about as I strive to be a better parent. Having searched for books on this theme earlier and having read a few I think this book does a good job of staying factual, giving you a great amount of information in a thin volume (who has the time to read a tome!) yet discusses ideas and strategies that made me pause and think and some that surprised me.

As a parent of a pre-teen, I have first hand knowledge of some of the influences that have shaped our children's lives in today's age. This book goes a step beyond and culls out 4 important themes that affect our kids. If you're a parent you already know this, you've seen it already, but the author brings them together and gives them a framework, so you can think about strategies that can help your child.
The 4 main trends he discusses are:
- Sexual Identity - Girls trying to look older at a younger age
- Obsessions - fixation on body, sports etc. due to a lack of strong sense of self
- Environmental Toxins - Exposure to drug/alcohol abuse, anxiety, stress factors
- Cyberbubble -The constant texting and messaging which causes teens/pre-teens to disengage from their true selves

I liked the fact that the author used data to back up these themes than just opinion and one off examples from friends and family. We cannot deny that these themes affect our children as there is data to prove it. Some facts were new to me, for instance, girls who don't live with their biological father tend to reach puberty much earlier. When you think about it, it does make sense. Although I had knowledge of these trends bringing them together helped me create a complete picture of all the pressures affecting my kid's life.

The author also suggests strategies to counter the negative impact of some of these trends. For instance, dealing with mean girls in school. What I liked about his strategies is that they are well thought out, and talk about the resistance and obstacles along the way. In this particular case, an effective strategy was getting the teacher involved at the beginning of the year and getting the girls to think about and sign an "Agreement". These are strategies that we tried in graduate school to build better teamwork and they worked. Some readers have commented that the author does not provide enough strategies in the book. On the contrary, I think he has done a nice job of balancing facts with strategies. Also, once you understand the facts, it's much easier to refine these strategies to fit your child's needs.

I highly recommend this book as a parent, I only wish I had read it earlier.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - Every parent of a girl needs to read this book!, April 10, 2010

By 

K. Salinger "MBA, RN, RRT, sFNP" (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls-Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins (Hardcover)

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I must admit that I was initially a bit skeptical - What would a MAN know about the troubles girls have after all?!?

However, I chose to read the book despite my misgivings as I was intrigued by the sub-title "The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls - sexual identity, obsessions, environmental toxins and the cyberbubble" I am so very glad that I did!

Despite having been written by someone of the opposite sex, this book is absolutely right on. The author has extensive experience working with girls through his family practice and psychotherapy practice. His insights are impressive, if somewhat discouraging due to their nature. He has a daughter himself. I was shocked by some of the information that I read yet I easily identified with other information, as it is something I remember experiencing myself when I was a teen (despite being over 20 years ago for me...)

Dr. Sax has identified four key areas of harm to girls as caused by the nature of our society, technology and accepted norms of today. He clearly outlines what the problems are, illustrates the issues with anecdotal stories of girls he's worked with who have struggled with these issues, provides research to further back his position and follows it up with suggestions on how parents can mitigate the named problem areas in hopes of raising a happy, self confident, radiant girl despite the challenges.

Some may be put off by the author's titles of the four key areas: sexual identity, obsessions, environmental toxins and the cyberbubble. However, once one reads his descriptions of the issues, why they're problematic and research which supports his position, any parent will be shocked, upset, dismayed and lastly very thankful that they've read this book so that they can prevent those problems from occurring for their own daughter(s).

A quick summary (but which doesn't do the book justice) would be:

Sexual identity: Girlhood has become sexualized, making girls sexual objects (with a heavy emphasis on appearance) which causes intimacy and sexual issues later in life when they do reach an appropriate age for sexual expression. High school culture has moved away from dating to "hook-up's", which involve (and expect) no-strings sexual intimacy and at increasingly young ages - essentially girls are expected to "perform favors" to some extent, interested or not, as that has become the expectation within this tween/teen culture.

Obsessions: Girls are essentially creating a "corporate brand" type identity at an early age, where they select their label and throw all their energy into it to make it happen. Maybe the "skinny one" (leading to anorexia/bulemia), the "smart-one" (potentially devistating when they don't do well or get top grades"), the "sporty girl" (studies show girls have significantly higher risks of short and long-term physical damage due to over-engaging in sports at a young age - knee replacement at 30 anyone?), plus a multitude of others which can all lead to severe emotional problems, anxiety and depression - all of which are on the rise in our society and especially so for females.

environmental toxins: endocrine disruptors in our foods, our beauty products, our utensils (plastic cups for example), in the environment with pesticides and so on are causing earlier and earlier puberty. Some girls as young as 7 are beginning puberty - this is way too early and they are without the emotional and cognitive maturity needed to navigate this transition.

cyberbubble: girls are connected virtually 24/7 with texting, mobile calls, social networking sites online, etc. This further creates the 'corporate branding' form of identity for girls as they feel they must have their posts to networking sites "fit" their created identity. Interesting, witty, intellectual or sporty, etc. They are always having to watch what they say and do as they are always being judged by their peers. Essentially what media stars deal with regarding press and image has now become the standard for girls because of their technological "connectedness". In addition, bullying is now 24/7 and not escaped once leaving the school (or whatever area it may occur) as it follows them by text, phone, and on social networking sites.

The author goes into much more clear detail about the above and why it is so very damaging, the current statistics and first hand stories of girls he's worked with. He gives ideas for each issue on how a parent can help protect and guide their daughter through these troubled areas.

He also mentions what school settings help prevent or eliminate much of these problems (all girls schools for one, as well as Waldorf schools and some other styles of education. He provides compelling evidence for his rationale as well). In addition he discusses what changes have occurred in society to cause many of these issues and how parents can adopt certain practices to better support their daughter's development into a more fulfilled individual.

One area he discusses which may be a tender spot for some is that he believes that girls are seeking and lacking in spiritual guidance. He does not push any specific religion, however, he does use the word god here and there (so those who don't subscribe to a male supreme being might be a bit put off by this). This chapter was written in a pretty neutral way otherwise and as a non-Christian I did not find it offensive. He states that it is not religion that is needed, but some form of spirituality which helps them feel more connected to something bigger.

I will also say that in one of the initial chapters he does quote a verse from the judeo-christian bible. I felt that the book would have been fine, perhaps better, had he not done that, as it is sure to turn off some readers who are not christian and who have a different spiritual path. Westernized countries are increasingly multicultural (this is especially apparent in the San Francisco Bay area where I live) one can no longer assume that most readers are of a judeo-christian background.

All-in-all this is not only a great book, but a very important book! If it were my choice it would be mandatory reading for all parents of girls under 18. Critically important information is discussed in the text. Read this if you have a daughter, a grand daughter, or a niece, or buy it for your friend who does.