From DIY to teen pregnancy: new pathologies, melancholia and feminist practice in contemporary English youth work¹

1. This paper arises from the UK Economic and Social Research Council-funded seminar series ‘Young Women in Movement: Sexualities, Vulnerabilities, Needs and Norms’, (ESRC RES-451-26-0715), based at Goldsmiths, University of London, 2009–2011.

Abstract

In this article I consider past and current forms of feminist practice and ‘girls work’ and debates within contemporary English youth work. Drawing on previous scholarly work in Girlhood studies, youth work and youth policy, I explore the range of dominant discourses that have come to shape youth work practice within the current economic and policy climate. Taking two examples of present-day ‘girls work’, Feministwebs and Girlguiding UK, I map the similarities and differences between these distinctive forms of practice, before considering the potential of feminist and queer pedagogies in reclaiming the potential for a liberatory praxis within twenty-first-century girls work.

Keywords:

• feminism
• youth work
• feminist pedagogy
• girls work
• girls

Notes

1. This paper arises from the UK Economic and Social Research Council-funded seminar series ‘Young Women in Movement: Sexualities, Vulnerabilities, Needs and Norms’, (ESRC RES-451-26-0715), based at Goldsmiths, University of London, 2009–2011.

2. Age 15–16; the final year of compulsory schooling.

3. At the time of writing, many English local authorities have been involved in severely cutting and disbanding youth services such as Connexions. However, in some local contexts the Connexions’ role has been retained as part of a targeted integrated youth service focused at the most ‘at-risk’ young people.

4. Greenham Common was a women’s peace camp established in Berkshire, England in 1981 to protest against the basing of US cruise missiles in the UK. For more on Greenham, see http://www.greenhamwpc.org.uk/.

5. Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) is the regulatory and inspection agency for schools and youth services in England.

6. See http://www.Feministwebs.com/.

7. See http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/guides/.

8. Manga is a highly stylised contemporary graphic art form originally from Japan, and has growing popularity in UK youth culture.

9. For more on the In Defence of Youth Work campaign, see http://www.indefenceofyouthwork.org.uk/wordpress/.