Raising Their Voices: The Politics of Girls Anger (Paperback)

by Lyn Mikel Brown (Author)
Key Phrases: dia girls, idealized femininity, ideal boy, Miss Davis, United States, Diane Starr (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Girls in our culture learn early to be self-effacing and pleasant, greeting the arrival of adolescence with an accommodating smile. Right? Perhaps not. In Raising Their Voices, author Lyn Mikel Brown, with Carol Gilligan (of the groundbreaking book on girls' psychology Meeting at the Crossroads), confronts the image of "passivity, depression, negative body-image and eating disorders, low self-esteem, and indirect expressions of feelings" perpetuated by recent psychological and sociological research on teen girls. In a year of meeting with groups of girls in two Maine communities--one primarily working-class, one middle- and upper-middle-class--Brown engages the young women in discussions about their relationships, their feelings, and the expectations they have begun to sense around being female.

The book, liberally seasoned with the girls' rowdy, clever, conflicted talk, reveals a vast difference between the role-stereotype pressure on working-class girls and their middle- class counterparts, and offers the news that all girls do not simply acquiesce to the constrictions of American culture, nor, if given the right support, do they need to. Brown exhorts adults, particularly women, to allow girls their voices, and to suggest to them, as she does, "the possibility, even under the most oppressive of conditions, for creative refusal and resistance." This book offers valuable insight and tools for the parents, teachers, and mentors of young women. --Maria Dolan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Adolescent girls resist encouragement to be passive, quiet and "good," finds Brown, an associate professor of education and human development at Colby College and coauthor of Meeting at the Crossroads: Women's Psychology and Girls' Development. The girls in her study readily identify the sources of their anger when it is aroused, but sometimes have difficulty expressing it directly, often navigating daily between what is expected of them and what they expect of themselves. They relentlessly try to make sense of the world and their place in it, refusing any attempt to pacify or silence them when conflicted. Although Brown acknowledges that her research is limited by her choice of subjects?only white, lower- and middle-class girls, aged 11 to 14, in two Maine towns?her admission isn't enough to cover the lack of comparison regionally and racially. Once one has made allowance for this small sample, however, Brown's observations about class differences and emotional expression should prove intriguing for those trying to explore the valleys and peaks of an adolescent mind. Unfortunately, Brown isn't content simply to let the girls speak for themselves, but reinterprets their verbal play, labors over points that are already self-evident and dissects their every childish giggle. Although her writing is graceful and sometimes even beautiful, Brown fights too hard for a group that obviously can fight for itself, given the girls' fiery speeches.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674747216
• ISBN-13: 978-0674747210
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,971 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read, March 10, 2002

By A Customer

As more and more regressive books about girls' meanness to other girls are being published, readers shouldn't forget about this book. To her credit, this author is a distinguished researcher and not just another journalis with a neat idea. Also to her credit is that the research is not just about upper class white girls at exclusive schools, but is about working class girls as well as suburban girls in Maine. IF you're starting to by into the idea that "girls are really meaner than boys" and we should teach them to be nicer, read this book for a different perspective. We need to honor girls' righteous anger and teach them to express it more directly. Brown also talks about why girls take out their anger on other girls instead of on boys who hold the power to confer upon them popular status etc. Don't forget this book when all the trendy ones pass.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars raising my voice..., November 14, 2000

By A Customer

I thought this book was great. I recently read Reviving Ophelia, and Ophelia speaks...and they really got me into reading more about how damaging society today is to adolescent girls. I would highly reccomend reading this book, it give alot of insight as to how to change things, and promote a healthier environment for girls.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 1, 2004

By A Customer

This was a waste of time. Brown leads the girls in a dialogue that is not realistic. She practically holds their hand, and puts words in their mouth the entire way. The most frustrating part of it all: she would not let the reader just read the girls' dialogues. After every half page of speaking, she would interrupt with ridiculous interpretations and analysis. She told the girls what to say and the reader what to think.

Her vocabulary was way over the top. Her language just screams that she is trying to impress somebody. She really seemed to miss the point in most of her interpretations. She talked in huge $25-word circles, and never said a thing.