Girl Warriors

Feminist Revisions of the Hero's Quest in Contemporary Popular Culture

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by Svenja Hohenstein

Type

Studies

Subject

Sociology

Keywords

gender, women

Publishing date

2019

Publisher

McFarland & Co

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 255 pages
6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4766-7664-7

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Book Presentation:
Quest narratives are as old as Western culture. In stories like The Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter, men set out on journeys, fight battles and become heroes. Women traditionally feature in such stories as damsels in need of rescue or as the prizes at the end of heroic quests. These narratives perpetuate predominant gender roles by casting men as active and women as passive.

Focusing on stories in which popular teenage heroines—Buffy Summers, Katniss Everdeen and Disney’s Princess Merida—embark on daring journeys, this book explores what happens when traditional gender roles and narrative patterns are subverted. The author examines representations of these characters across various media—film, television, novels, posters, merchandise, fan fiction and fan art, and online memes—that model concepts of heroism and girlhood inspired by feminist ideas.

About the Author:
Svenja Hohenstein is an assistant professor at the University of Tuebingen, Germany.

Press Reviews:
• "Outstanding…exceptionally well written, organized and presented…recommended"—Midwest Book Review

• "A timely, readable, and well-researched intervention into ongoing conversations about adaptation, representation, and characterization in literature and films about young heroines embarking on quests…will be valuable to anyone writing about adaptation in almost any way, not just children’s film or girl studies"—Mythlore

See the publisher website: McFarland & Co