Dolly girls: tweenies as artefacts of consumption

Abstract

The apparent sexualization and exploitation of young girls by the consumer media is a much debated topic in the advanced liberal democracies. This paper will develop the argument that the ‘consumer-media culture’ has established itself as one of the most powerful influences in processes of self-formation for young people, and that a tweenie self can be understood as an artefact of consumption. We will identify and analyse the resources that the consumer media provides to tweenies – girls aged between 9 and 14 – as they seek to fashion a sense of self. The paper presents an analysis of the resources presented to this population of young girls/women by an Australian ‘appearance’ magazine, Dolly. We will argue that these identity resources are limited in scope, are dominated by images of young, slim and attractive females, and position the tweenie self as an artefact of consumption.

Keywords:

• consumption
• gender
• identity