Whose Social Empowerment? The Impact of Normative Constructions of Girlhood in Pure (Amanda I. & Adam R.)

In “Docile Bodies, Dangerous Bodies: Sexual Awakening and Social Resistance in Young Adult Dystopian Novels”, Sara Day argues that Western culture presents girls as “simultaneously desirable and dangerous”, requiring strict regulation of their sexuality and physical agency (75). While traditional literature contains warnings against girls exploring their physical desires, young adult dystopian literature seeks to …

From Passive to Less Passive: Lena’s Transformation in the Panoptic Society of Delirium (Alex L. & Emma L.)

Girlhood is often associated with passivity. The notion of girls as passive beings can lead to many issues, including oppression, conformity and in the case of Delirium, a lack of free will. This repressive state is created out of a panoptic society where surveillance is a constant factor in everyday life.The society in Olivia Butler’s …