Lyn Mikel Brown

Embodying sexualisation: When theory meets practice in intergenerational feminist activism

This interchange explores the role of girl (ages thirteen to twenty-two) activism in the USA organisation SPARK (Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge). Some of the many initiatives and programmes SPARK has enacted with girls, including online forums, blog spaces, marches, and summits directly address recent calls to attend to the complexity in understanding and resisting ‘sexualisation’ with teen girls. Several of the girls’ media appearances are explored in detail to illustrate the dynamics of girls’ agency and resistance that emerge in their embodied engagements with ‘sexualisation’.

Envisioning a Postmodern Moral Pedagogy

Abstract This paper considers some of the implications of the “postmodern condition” for the practice of moral education in the contemporary world. It argues that an explicitly critical dimension is a key element of the postmodern perspective and suggests that, from such a perspective, most of the efforts to engage in explicit moral education over the past 25 years have fallen short, because instead of pushing toward genuine critique and authentic change they have simply perpetuated the status quo. It proposes, therefore, that a critical postmodern moral pedagogy must address the fundamental inter‐relationship between language and power, and must adopt a dialogical attitude that does not grant exclusive access to power, knowledge and authority to the teacher, but instead seeks ways in which teachers and students can engage in genuine dialogue and mutual exchange.

Adolescents' moral dilemmas: The context.

The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology which outlines the kinds of real-life moral dilemmas adolescents spontaneously present in open-ended semiclinical interviews. A coding procedure is introduced which delineates three aspects of these moral dilemmas, “conflicts,” “context,” and “content,” and an analysis is done of the category labeled “context.” One hundred forty-eight adolescents from two school settings were interviewed. The results show that the majority of both boys and girls in these samples describe moral conflicts in the “context” of a relationship, particularly involving friends. However, boys are more likely than girls to focus on the “the self” as the “context” of the moral dilemma with no other relational context present and significantly more girls than boys focus on relationships rather than self.

Lesen im Hinblick auf das Selbst und die moralische Stimme

Unser Ziel ist es, in diesem Aufsatz eine interpretative Methode zu beschreiben, die wir als Anleitung zur Auswertung (zum Lesen) von Interviewerzahlungen uber moralische Konflikte und Entscheidungen entwikkelt haben. Von zentraler Bedeutung fur dieses Vorhaben ist, das wir es fur moglich halten, das einerseits unterschiedliche Perspektiven im Hinblick auf moralische Probleme eingenommen werden konnen und das andererseits zwischen diesen ein Konflikt besteht. In der Tat glauben wir, das eine Spannung zwischen unterschiedlichen moralischen Stimmen und der Konflikt zwischen sich widersprechenden Werten wesentlich fur das moralische Leben ist; das es, wie Martha Nussbaumsagt, “einem konfliktfreien Leben im Vergleich zu einem Leben, in dem Konflikte entstehen konnen, an Wert und Schonheit mangelt” (Nussbaum 1986, S. 81).

Bridges, ladders, sparks, and glue: celebrating and problematizing “girl-driven” intergenerational feminist activism

Abstract Intergenerational collaborations with girls are difficult. Complicating power structures, translating vocabulary and culture across generations, balancing mentorship with partnership, and many other tricky negotiations lead too many adults to either give up or never even try to work with girls. This paper explores, examines, critiques, and celebrates the ways in which girls and adult allies are collaborating to ignite SPARK Movement (www.SPARKmovement.org), a “girl-driven,” anti-racist, intergenerational feminist activist movement. We braid research and practice and draw on interviews and writing responses from girl activists within SPARK to investigate these issues critical to scaffolding intergenerational feminist social change work. We share and analyze stories of transition and teachable moments, communication and miscommunication, and descriptions of activist projects to underscore the importance of girl-driven activism and the need for strategic adult support of many kinds. By problematizing the theory that it is always a good idea to bring girls into activist movements, we dig into the potential dangers of tokenizing youth engagement. We examine common tensions and negotiations that emerge around appreciating the complexity in things that appear simple and finding balance in a series of seemingly incongruous and contradictory experiences.