A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence, By: Rebbecca Raby

After reading A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence by Rebecca C. Raby, I came to the realization that stereotypes that classify today’s youth as moody and rebellious transcend the Western Culture. In this study Raby is on a quest to explore what people thought of adolescents while they were experiencing it. In the text she talks about discourses which are defined by her as a set of meanings, metaphors, representations, images, stories, statements and so on that in some way together produce a particular version of events’ (1995, p. 48). In her work, Raby states that many of the discourses, representations, meanings and metaphors regarding teenagers are often manipulated by power. This statement directly correlates to the discussion we had last class about how people in power dictate dominant ideologies in the media.

When talking to most adults they tend to refer to their teenage years as the best years of their lives but I tend to disagree many teenagers are bombarded by images in the media of what is accepted in. When walking through the hallways of most high schools we see many adolescence with expensive clothes, purses and accessories. Rabi calls this pleasurable consumption; however I believe that adolescent’s these to gain acceptance from their peers. Individuals who cannot afford the latest trends are often ridiculed and cast as an outsider. An individual’s adolescent years are fundamental in discovering one’s identity, beliefs and values’ combining this with the inevitable peer pressure that adolescents face it’s no wonder that they are sometimes misunderstood. With adolescent years acknowledged as a period of self reflection I understand why the media places so much focus on capitalism and the image of perfection.

My question is the same as Amanda’s? Which is: Is Adolescence viewed as biological, and how is adolescence and discourse viewed within our society, not only by women but men as well?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6EQAOmJrbw

I Found this video of My Chemical Romance, and their song called "Teenagers" that explains how teenagers are often misunderstood by adults in today's society.