Review by Booklist Review
Drawing on more than 30 years of experience working with teen girls and a recent, focused 10-year study, Hinshaw, chair of the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley, offers this highly readable, fascinating account of the lives of contemporary young women. The title refers to the triple, contradictory expectations held out to teen girls: they should adhere to traditional feminine qualities (nice, kind, pretty); they should adhere to traditional masculine qualities (competitive, high-achieving); and they should funnel these qualities into narrow personality types that leave little room for individuality, exploration, or mistakes. In probing chapters that deftly synthesize sobering statistics, case anecdotes, and personal observation, Hinshaw makes a strong case that teen girls are in crisis. With extensive examples from film, television, and books (Gossip Girls and its sister series are quoted extensively), Hinshaw cites ways that contemporary culture puts girls at risk; and a final chapter looks at possible solutions. With a full appendix of resources, this balanced, thorough, compassionate title is required reading for parents, teachers, and teens of both sexes.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Hinshaw, chair of UC-Berkeley's psychology department and an authority on childhood ADHD, enters a cultural minefield: why do today's teenage girls, despite enormous opportunities, seem crippled by increased rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, violence and suicide? Hinshaw's sweeping diagnosis is "the triple bind," or society's expectation that young women possess traditionally feminine attributes such as empathy and selflessness, but also succeed in typically masculine arenas such as competitive sports and cutthroat career paths, and finally, generally "conform to a narrow, unrealistic set of standards that allows for no alternative." Hinshaw identifies academic pressures, sexed-up pop culture, Internet voyeurism and girl-on-girl bullying as sources of overwhelming stress and conflicting ideals for girls. Yet his study suffers from an identity crisis of its own: while Hinshaw shines in conversations with troubled young girls, he plays the role of cultural critic rather than psychologist in offering elaborate analyses of TV shows such as Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy while providing little hard evidence-or testimonies from girls themselves-on how these shows affect girls. Hinshaw neglects his strengths and, in turn, offers little in the way of solutions. (Feb. 10) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Be a good girl, be a hot girl, be the best at what only boys used to do. Appearances notwithstanding, this is no time to enjoy being a girl, argues Berkeley psychology professor Hinshaw. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
