This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.
It’s not a new revelation that literature is dominated by stories written by and about old, cranky white men. They’ve filled our syllabi from elementary school to college. Teenage girls, meanwhile, get roundly dismissed. They’re driven by hormones, so anything they like must be ridiculous and uncultured. Sure, we read about Anne Frank and Joan of Arc, but as great as they were, why do we only get to learn about the dreariest possible fates for opinionated young women? In response to this dire lack of spunky girls in their teens and early twenties in college-level literature, I’ve created my own syllabus for one of my dream classes: The Importance of Young Women in Literature.
The Classics:
Evelina, by Fanny Burney
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston
We’ll start with three classics of the form. In her 1778 novel Evelina, the 26-year-old Fanny Burney basically created a new kind of fiction, the condescending classification we will reclaim in this course: “chick-lit.” Her first novel was a smash success, and went on to inspire the likes of Jane Austen. Another enduring success, Betty Smith’s novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn chronicles the adolescence of Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in the slums of Williamsburg in the 1910s. Next, we’ll turn to a newer classic: Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior. Kingston’s work of “creative non-fiction” links classic Chinese folk tales with her own childhood experience. It’s a pioneering text for both feminist scholars and those simply wanting to understand the psyche of the teenage girl.
Sex:
Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison
Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeannette Winterson
Of course we’ll have to discuss one of the most important parts of any young girl’s life: sex. In Bastard out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison tells the story of a young girl named Bone, and her young mother Anney. Unfortunately, Bone and Anney’s understandings of sex are shaped by traumatic events, but it is important to examine the ways income and class can seem to predetermine women’s lives. In contrast, Bonjour Tristesse, written by Françoise Sagan when she was only 17, follows a rich young girl on a summer holiday on the French Riviera. On this vacation, she has an affair with an older man and watches her father’s multiple unsuccessful affairs, coming to understand that sex isn’t always what it’s hyped up to be. Finally, in Jeannette Winterson’s semi-autobiographical novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, a young girl comes to understand her homosexuality while leaving behind her evangelical Christian upbringing.
Drugs, Rock n’ Roll:
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous (aka Beatrice Sparks)
Cherry, by Mary Karr
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
Go Ask Alice is the classic cautionary tale of drug abuse, as told through the “diary” of a teenage girl. It may or may not be realistic, but it’s sure to inspire plenty of discussion. Next, we’ll read Cherry, Mary Karr’s exquisite memoir about her tempestuous teen years (also recommended: Karr’s equally lovely recounting of her early childhood, The Liars’ Club). Finally we’ll turn to a classic graphic novel: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. In Persepolis, Satrapi remembers her childhood in revolutionary Iran, as well as her teen years at school in Austria, separated from her parents. It’s included in this section because of my personal favorite part of the novel, when pre-teen Marjane becomes immersed in the world of punk music, despite the conservatism of her home country.
Contemporary Teen Girls:
I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More, by Janet Mock
Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell
I think it’s just as important to study our current cultural climate as it is to study classics. In I am Malala, Nobel prize winner and 18-year-old Malala Yousafzai tells the story of her fight to educate girls in developing countries, as well as the Taliban’s attempt to assassinate her for her advocacy. In Redefining Realness, Janet Mock recounts growing up transgender, black and poor in America, and gives vital insight into a group of girls who have been largely ignored in mainstream culture. Finally, we will finish off the course with perhaps the most contemporary “chick-lit” book of all, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. In her second young adult novel, Rowell tells the story of a young girl who only wants to write fanfiction about her favorite fictional characters, and what happens when she has to “grow up.”
Of course, you don’t need to wait for this class to actually exist to read these books, so drop that angsty white man novel and get in touch with your inner (or outer) teenage girl!