Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Growing Girls: The Natural Origins of Girls' Organizations in America

Growing Girls: The Natural Origins of Girls' Organizations in America

Miller, Susan A.

Paperback

Series: Rutgers Childhood Studies

20th Century United States HistoryGeneral World HistoryWomen's Studies

Publisher Price: $38.95

ISBN10: 081354064X
ISBN13: 9780813540641
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: Jul 20 2007
Pages: 284
Weight: 0.86
Height: 0.67 Width: 6.31 Depth: 8.93
Language: English
In the early years of the twentieth century, Americans began to recognize adolescence as a developmental phase distinct from both childhood and adulthood. This awareness, however, came fraught with anxiety about the debilitating effects of modern life on adolescents of both sexes. For boys, competitive sports as well as primitive outdoor activities offered by fledging organizations such as the Boy Scouts would enable them to combat the effeminacy of an overly civilized society. But for girls, the remedy wasn't quite so clear.

Surprisingly, the girl problem?a crisis caused by the transition from a sheltered, family-centered Victorian childhood to modern adolescence where self-control and a strong democratic spirit were required of reliable citizens?was also solved by way of traditionally masculine, adventurous, outdoor activities, as practiced by the Girl Scouts, the Camp Fire Girls, and many other similar organizations.

Susan A. Miller explores these girls' organizations that sprung up in the first half of the twentieth century from a socio-historical perspective, showing how the notions of uniform identity, civic duty, primitive domesticity, and fitness shaped the formation of the modern girl.

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20th Century United States History

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