Nature and Scope
Introduction
Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture brings together a rich collection of highly graphic and illustrative annuals, comics, magazines and periodicals that facilitate the study of print culture aimed at young and teenage girls throughout the twentieth century. The collection focuses on publications produced in the UK, Australia and US, representing some of the most popular titles aimed at teenage girls during this era. Some titles were also more widely distributed to countries in the commonwealth, such as Singapore, Canada and South Africa making this an excellent collection to examine the wider influence and impacts of publications from these areas on young girls and women across the globe. This era was marked by substantial change for girls and young women, with continually evolving societal expectations regarding their roles, shaped by several key factors that led to significant social, cultural, and political transformations. Developments in educational access and reform, the ongoing struggle for women’s equality, major economic shifts, and technological advancements collectively had a profound impact on the ways in which girls were expected to behave and conform to gender norms.
In addition to enabling researchers to examine these major societal changes, Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture offers a more intimate perspective on the issues and concerns that affected girls and young women during this period. Letters to magazines provide valuable insight into the lived experiences and anxieties of girls, expressed in their own words. The emergence of the agony aunt column serves as a crucial source of understanding, revealing not only the personal lives of girls and young women but also reflecting broader societal expectations and educational practices through the advice given in response to readers’ letters.
For further information on the material selected for inclusion in this resource, visit the Selection Criteria.
Introduction
Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture brings together a rich collection of highly graphic and illustrative annuals, comics, magazines and periodicals that facilitate the study of print culture aimed at young and teenage girls throughout the twentieth century. The collection focuses on publications produced in the UK, Australia and US, representing some of the most popular titles aimed at teenage girls during this era. Some titles were also more widely distributed to countries in the commonwealth, such as Singapore, Canada and South Africa making this an excellent collection to examine the wider influence and impacts of publications from these areas on young girls and women across the globe. This era was marked by substantial change for girls and young women, with continually evolving societal expectations regarding their roles, shaped by several key factors that led to significant social, cultural, and political transformations. Developments in educational access and reform, the ongoing struggle for women’s equality, major economic shifts, and technological advancements collectively had a profound impact on the ways in which girls were expected to behave and conform to gender norms.
In addition to enabling researchers to examine these major societal changes, Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture offers a more intimate perspective on the issues and concerns that affected girls and young women during this period. Letters to magazines provide valuable insight into the lived experiences and anxieties of girls, expressed in their own words. The emergence of the agony aunt column serves as a crucial source of understanding, revealing not only the personal lives of girls and young women but also reflecting broader societal expectations and educational practices through the advice given in response to readers’ letters.
For further information on the material selected for inclusion in this resource, visit the Selection Criteria.
Contributing Libraries and Archives
Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture contains vital collections from local and national libraries and archives across the UK, US and Australia, including:
- Bowling Green State University
- British Library
- Future PLC
- Liverpool John Moores University
- State Library of New South Wales
For more information about these collections and the periodicals selected from each archive, visit the Guide to the Archival Collections.
Contributing Libraries and Archives
Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture contains vital collections from local and national libraries and archives across the UK, US and Australia, including:
- Bowling Green State University
- British Library
- Future PLC
- Liverpool John Moores University
- State Library of New South Wales
For more information about these collections and the periodicals selected from each archive, visit the Guide to the Archival Collections.
Content Warning
Due to the nature of these sources, graphic images and written accounts featuring violence, sexual violence, injury, death, sexually explicit content, racism, homophobia, misogyny and explicit language can be found in this resource.
Publications included in Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture do primarily represent the white Western perspectives of the editorial teams and distributors that created them. In earlier materials representation of marginalized groups is likely to be derogatory and focus on stereotypes. In later publications, this may also be the case but there are some examples, especially from magazines which pushed against the mainstream, of interviews with, articles by, and features on under-represented peoples. Visit the Searching Guide for more information on how to find hidden narratives in the collection or watch Ashleigh Greene Wade’s discussion on Black Girlhood to understand more about the different experiences of Black girls at this time and how these magazines can be used to learn more about them.
Please also note that, due to the period in which the primary sources in this resource were produced, some do contain language and terminology that is outdated, derogatory and offensive by modern standards. Learn more about our approach to terminology in this resource in the Language Statement.
Content Warning
Due to the nature of these sources, graphic images and written accounts featuring violence, sexual violence, injury, death, sexually explicit content, racism, homophobia, misogyny and explicit language can be found in this resource.
Publications included in Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture do primarily represent the white Western perspectives of the editorial teams and distributors that created them. In earlier materials representation of marginalized groups is likely to be derogatory and focus on stereotypes. In later publications, this may also be the case but there are some examples, especially from magazines which pushed against the mainstream, of interviews with, articles by, and features on under-represented peoples. Visit the Searching Guide for more information on how to find hidden narratives in the collection or watch Ashleigh Greene Wade’s discussion on Black Girlhood to understand more about the different experiences of Black girls at this time and how these magazines can be used to learn more about them.
Please also note that, due to the period in which the primary sources in this resource were produced, some do contain language and terminology that is outdated, derogatory and offensive by modern standards. Learn more about our approach to terminology in this resource in the Language Statement.
Document Types
The archival material in this resource consists of the following document types:
- Annuals
- Comics
- Magazines
Document Types
The archival material in this resource consists of the following document types:
- Annuals
- Comics
- Magazines
Themes
Documents have been grouped by the following themes:
- Consumer Culture
- Education and Employment
- Entertainment and Popular Culture
- Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle
- Feminism
- Fiction
- Music
- Relationships and Sexuality
- Social Class
Themes have been attributed to documents in Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture as metadata tags to enhance browsing functionality. However, due to the nature of the documents, they often tend to cover a wide variety of themes. As such, there may be multi-theme documents that go beyond the 'core' themes they have been tagged with.
Use the filters in View Periodicals to focus on documents relevant to your research or see the Thematic Guides for more information about these themes and the types of documents they include.
Themes
Documents have been grouped by the following themes:
- Consumer Culture
- Education and Employment
- Entertainment and Popular Culture
- Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle
- Feminism
- Fiction
- Music
- Relationships and Sexuality
- Social Class
Themes have been attributed to documents in Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture as metadata tags to enhance browsing functionality. However, due to the nature of the documents, they often tend to cover a wide variety of themes. As such, there may be multi-theme documents that go beyond the 'core' themes they have been tagged with.
Use the filters in View Periodicals to focus on documents relevant to your research or see the Thematic Guides for more information about these themes and the types of documents they include.
Note on Metadata
The metadata accompanying the documents in Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture has been drawn from library and archive catalogues, with additional data supplemented by the AM team to facilitate browsing and searching.
The metadata fields added by AM include:
- Circulation
- Place of Publication
- Price
- Publication
- Publication Summary
- Publisher
- Theme
For more information on language and terminology within this resource, please see our Language Statement.
Note on Metadata
The metadata accompanying the documents in Girlhood: Magazines and Print Culture has been drawn from library and archive catalogues, with additional data supplemented by the AM team to facilitate browsing and searching.
The metadata fields added by AM include:
- Circulation
- Place of Publication
- Price
- Publication
- Publication Summary
- Publisher
- Theme
For more information on language and terminology within this resource, please see our Language Statement.
Note on Redaction of Personal Data
Please note that some materials in this resource include personal information that has been redacted in order to protect the privacy of living individuals.
Note on Redaction of Personal Data
Please note that some materials in this resource include personal information that has been redacted in order to protect the privacy of living individuals.
Research and Teaching
A variety of research tools provide further contextual information or guidance for teaching and research. From essays and video interviews to thematic guides and exhibitions, explore the options under Research Tools or view the full list in Teaching Tools.
Research and Teaching
A variety of research tools provide further contextual information or guidance for teaching and research. From essays and video interviews to thematic guides and exhibitions, explore the options under Research Tools or view the full list in Teaching Tools.