Becoming Tween Bodies: What Preadolescent Girls in the US Say About Beauty, The “Just-Right Ideal,” and the “Disney Girls”

Abstract

Preadolescent girls in the US consume more commercial media, much of which emphasizes a narrow conceptualization of ideal beauty, in more varied formats than any generation preceding them. This study used qualitative methods including participant-created photo collages, email diaries, and in-depth interviews to elicit information about how a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of 9- to 11-year-old US girls interacted with traditional and new media, envisioned the beauty ideal, and interpreted the need to subscribe to beauty and body maintenance practices. This analysis identified the contours of the “just-right ideal” to which girls aspire, the “Disney Girls” who embody it, and the complicated ways in which girls integrate the beauty practices prescribed by this ideal into their lives.

Keywords::

• beauty ideals
• body image
• tween
• Girls' Studies
• media reception
• qualitative methods
• neoliberalism
• Disney

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the assistance of the Girl Scouts of Kentucky's Wilderness Road Council in recruiting and providing incentives to participants in this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Margaret L. McGladrey

Margaret L. McGladrey, MA, is the Assistant Dean for Research at the College of Public Health and a PhD student at the University of Kentucky. This study resulted from her thesis project for her master's program in Communication at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include girls' reception and interpretation of media texts, the prevention of disordered eating and body image disturbances in young girls, and the development and evaluation of media literacy curriculum and extracurricular programming. University of Kentucky, 111 Washington Ave. Suite 104E, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, USA. Tel: [phone]; E-mail: [email protected]