Sexualisation of Girlhood During Edwardian Times

<div>NOTCHES (Archives of Desire)<br></div><div><p></p><p>Published 15th of November 2016</p><p>In the first decade of the twentieth century, new printing technologies and an affordable postage rate popularized picture postcards. The growing middle class took every opportunity to acquire these mementos: to celebrate a special occasion, send a coded love message, wallpaper a room or show off a trip to an exotic location. </p> <p>During this “Golden Age” which lasted until World War I, erotic postcards became fashionable too, offering titillating staged fantasies at a budget. Studio photographers rarely signed their works in order to evade legal complications. Buyers concealed their collections in hidden albums to avoid indiscretion. In the lighthearted visual culture of the Edwardian era, suggestive images of children like the above abounded. Created for adult gratification, they played with double entendre, hovering on the border of the permissible. Risqué postcards of the previous century can be considered the precursors of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexualization#Children" target="_blank">sexualisation of childhood</a> in today’s media landscape.</p><p></p></div

Between innocence and experience: the sexualisation of girlhood in 19th century postcards

<div>The Conversation</div><div><br>Published 14th of December 2017</div><div><br></div><div>We often hear that we are living in a corrupting, visually saturated, consumer culture, which threatens the innocence of girlhood. But representations of young girls in the European postcard trade at the turn of the 20th century cast doubt on this notion of an ideal, more innocent past.<br></div

Marginalised Girlhood: Blind Spots, Challenges and Hopes

To marginalise is ‘to treat (a person, group, or concept) as insignificant or peripheral’ (Cambridge Dictionary). Marginalised Girlhood: Blind Spots, Challenges and Hopes opens the conversation about the representation of girls in popular culture along the axes of race, disability and sexuality. How does it feel to grow up at the periphery of the mainstream norms? To never have role models in dominant narratives; and to have one’s self-experience misrepresented? PhD candidates Elodie Silberstein and Belinda Glynn; and Dr Whitney Monaghan, author of the book Queer Girls, Temporality and Screen Media: Not 'Just a Phase' (Palgrave, 2016) will share their personal experiences in light of the current feminist resurgence. Join the conversation in a Q&A oriented session to have your say on how to empower the new generations of girls

From Cinderella to Telenovelas, New Narratives of Girlhood in a Globalized World

From the romance of fairy-tales to the sexual appeal of popular culture, the characterisation of girlhood in the media landscape presents a passive and commodified image of femininity in a hegemonic fashion. The development of new media technologies and the rise of consumer culture have increased anxieties surrounding the social identity and the corporeality of girls. How do girls interpret and negotiate these mainstream narratives? Is there room for alternatives? What can we learn from how girlhood has been defined in other times and cultures? Join Elodie Silberstein (Monash University) in conversation with Michelle Smith (Deakin University), Sofia Rios (Monash University) and Freya Bennett (founder of Tigress Magazine) as they problematise the idea of girlhood across borders and across time. Organisation: Free University Date: Thursday 3 December (6.30-8pm) Location: The Alderman, 134 Lygon St East Brunswick Format: 45 minute panel presentation and 45 minute open discussio