Girls, Feminism, and Grassroots Literacies: Activism in the GirlZone (SUNY series in Feminist Criticism and Theory)

Case study of the life of a feminist organization in a changing political and funding climate.

This book explores the rise and fall of a grassroots, girl-centered organization, GirlZone, which sought to make social change on a local level. Whether skateboarding or designing Web pages, celebrating in weekend “GrrrlFests” or producing a biweekly RadioGirl program, participants in GirlZone came to understand themselves as competent actors in a variety of activities they had previously thought were closed off to them. Drawing on six years of fieldwork examining GirlZone from its inception until its demise, Mary P. Sheridan-Rabideau offers insights on the current state of and study of literacy in the extracurriculum. She addresses how girls have become cultural flashpoints reflecting societal—and particularly feminist—anxieties and hopes about the present and the future. Sheridan-Rabideau does more than chronicle the pressure girls face; she offers advice on how feminists, cultural critics, and activists can effect social change on local levels, even in today’s increasingly globalized contexts.

“…for historians, organizers, activists, and educators who are interested in feminisms, girls, or the lifecycle of a grassroots organization, the book will be an interesting read and an important resource.” — Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth

“Sheridan-Rabideau presents a poignant example of how feminist activism has existed and can exist in today’s society with well-researched feminist theory … The case of GirlZone and Sheridan-Rabideau’s discussion of it are important to feminist scholars and feminist activists.” — Femspec

“Sheridan-Rabideau tells the fascinating but sadly all too common story of the rise and demise of a feminist organization for girls … The book contextualizes the emergence of this feminist organization within 1990s girl culture and poses a challenge to feminism’s image for both a new generation and to potential funding agencies in a time and context hostile to feminism.” — CHOICE

“This is a bright, readable, passionate, and highly authoritative book about the struggle between grassroots politics and consumer/media culture. Sheridan-Rabideau uses insights from literacy, rhetoric, and discourse studies to offer fascinating analyses of communication difficulties and decision making in the GirlZone organization.” — Deborah Brandt, author of Literacy in American Lives