He's so dreamy, she's so beautiful: celebrities, the representation of (pre-)adolescent femininity in M, and self-perception
| dc.contributor.author | Campbell, Jennifer Ann Elizabeth | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Hallgrimsdottir, Dr. Helga | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2008-04-30T23:55:47Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2008-04-30T23:55:47Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2008 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2008-04-30T23:55:47Z | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Sociology | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts M.A. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | In this thesis, I critique the representation of pre-adolescent and teen femininity in M and the influence of the teen fan genre on identity development. This discussion revolves around a social semiotic analysis of four texts and two sub-texts, and a social semiotic auto-ethnographic exploration of my experience as a reader of teen fan publications. Among the texts, a feminine identity is represented through eight interlocking semiotic themes: fashion and beauty, celebrity idolization, entertainment, consumerism, heterosexuality/romance, friendship, celebrity as occupation, and affluent lifestyle. My research findings show that the portrayal of femininity in M is a narrow and unrealistic ideal. Conveyed through celebrity worship, femininity is a highly (hetero)sexualized, racialized, thin, able-bodied, affluent, mass-mediated, and (self-)commodified ideal that perpetuates age ambiguity As the discussion of my adolescence shows, the representation of femininity in the teen fan genre can thwart creativity and contribute to a negative self-concept. Finally, teen fan magazines were important in assisting in the creation of a (pre-)adolescent feminine self, but it was only one institution in which my identity formed. My self-concept emerged from social regulation via the interconnected relationship among teen fan magazines, mall and school cultures, and family. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1828/927 | |
| dc.language | English | eng |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.subject | pre-teen and adolescent femininity | en_US |
| dc.subject | celebrity idolization | en_US |
| dc.subject | social semiotics | en_US |
| dc.subject | girl culture | en_US |
| dc.subject | self-perception | en_US |
| dc.subject | identity development | en_US |
| dc.subject | teen fan genre | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | UVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Sociology | en_US |
| dc.title | He's so dreamy, she's so beautiful: celebrities, the representation of (pre-)adolescent femininity in M, and self-perception | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |