Thank heaven for little girls: `Girl Heaven' and the commercial context of feminine childhood

Rachel Russell; Melissa Tyler

doi:10.1177/0038038502036003007

Thank heaven for little girls: `Girl Heaven' and the commercial context of feminine childhood

Rachel Russell, Melissa Tyler

Sociology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

83 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper is based on a critical analysis of a chain of retail outlets called `Girl Heaven', aimed primarily at 3-13-year-old girls, described variously as `a piece of retail folklore' (Lumsden, 1999) and as `Guardian Wimmin Hell' (Kettle, 1999). It argues that while on the one hand Girl Heaven appears to provide a celebratory social space in which girls can affirm their femininity, it also seems to epitomize the commercial appropriation of childhood femininity.

Original language	English
Journal	Sociology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038502036003007
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2002

Keywords

femininity
childhood

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10.1177/0038038502036003007

Cite this

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title = "Thank heaven for little girls: `Girl Heaven' and the commercial context of feminine childhood",

abstract = "This paper is based on a critical analysis of a chain of retail outlets called `Girl Heaven', aimed primarily at 3-13-year-old girls, described variously as `a piece of retail folklore' (Lumsden, 1999) and as `Guardian Wimmin Hell' (Kettle, 1999). It argues that while on the one hand Girl Heaven appears to provide a celebratory social space in which girls can affirm their femininity, it also seems to epitomize the commercial appropriation of childhood femininity.",

keywords = "femininity, childhood",

author = "Rachel Russell and Melissa Tyler",

note = "Originally published in: Sociology (2002), 36 (3), pp.619-637.",

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doi = "10.1177/0038038502036003007",

language = "English",

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AU - Tyler, Melissa

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PY - 2002/8/1

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N2 - This paper is based on a critical analysis of a chain of retail outlets called `Girl Heaven', aimed primarily at 3-13-year-old girls, described variously as `a piece of retail folklore' (Lumsden, 1999) and as `Guardian Wimmin Hell' (Kettle, 1999). It argues that while on the one hand Girl Heaven appears to provide a celebratory social space in which girls can affirm their femininity, it also seems to epitomize the commercial appropriation of childhood femininity.

AB - This paper is based on a critical analysis of a chain of retail outlets called `Girl Heaven', aimed primarily at 3-13-year-old girls, described variously as `a piece of retail folklore' (Lumsden, 1999) and as `Guardian Wimmin Hell' (Kettle, 1999). It argues that while on the one hand Girl Heaven appears to provide a celebratory social space in which girls can affirm their femininity, it also seems to epitomize the commercial appropriation of childhood femininity.

KW - femininity

KW - childhood

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M3 - Article

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JF - Sociology

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Thank heaven for little girls: `Girl Heaven' and the commercial context of feminine childhood

Abstract

Keywords

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