Tween girls' dressing: Shifts, implications, and future directions in Singapore

Abstract

Abstract This article traces the changes in research on tween girls' dress. Traditionally, girls' adult‐like dressing has been predominantly understood through the discourse of sexualization. Girls are seen to be prematurely sexualized when they fashion themselves after adults. This is a cause for concern as the young girl subject is seen as an unknowing victim, who is vulnerable to a range of physical, sexual, and psychological harm when she fashions herself after adults. Recent scholarship, however, have begun to pay more attention to girls' agency and viewpoints when it comes to what they want to wear. Scholars have begun to work with (rather than on) girls, situating girls' perspectives at the center of their research. Such studies acknowledge that girls are not passive recipients of an adult culture or the types of messages that they receive about what to wear. Nonetheless, in outlining the shifts in research on girls' dressing, this article highlights how scholarship on girls' young femininities remains Western‐centric. There is a need for more research on girlhood and girls' cultural identities outside the West, and especially in the context of Singapore. Much of the research on youth within this region has focused on girls' roles and identities as students.

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