"Reveals how friendships and social media can help girls survive even the most tragic consequences of American poverty.
My Girls explores the overlooked yet transformative power of female friendship in a low-income Boston-area neighborhood. In this innovative and compassionate book, researcher Jasmin Sandelson joins teenage girls in their homes, at their hangouts and parties, and online to show how they use their connections to secure the care and support that adults in their lives can't give.
Friendships among young people in poor, urban communities—often framed as ""risky"" sources of peer pressure and conflict—offer crucial support and self-esteem. In a new, positive take that reveals the primacy of phones and social media in contemporary friendships, Sandelson demonstrates how girls look to one another to battle boredom, find stability, embrace adulthood, and process trauma and grief. This illuminating study—one of the first to combine digital and in-person fieldwork—blends firsthand narratives with tweets, Snaps, and Instagram and Facebook posts. My Girls places young women of color at the center of their own stories to illuminate the worlds of love and care they create."
By:
Jasmin Sandelson
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 23mm
Weight: 408g
ISBN: 9780520388895
ISBN 10: 0520388895
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 30 August 2023
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents Preface Introduction I · Friends and Forms of Care 1 Broke: Getting By 2 Bored: Time Management 3 Emotional Support and Breakdown 4 Bodies, Boyfriends, and Sex II · Friendships under Threat 5 Technologies of Trauma 6 Dealing with Difference III · After Graduation 7 Struggle and Support at College Conclusion A Note on Research and Writing Final Reflections: Ten Years Later Acknowledgments Notes References Index
Jasmin Sandelson is Research Manager at Columbia University's Justice Lab and a creative writing MFA student at New York University. She has a PhD in sociology from Harvard University.
