Girls, the Divine and the Prime Time

Abstract

Drawn from a larger research project exploring discourses of ability and gender, this paper identifies a narrative theme, ‘Girls Find God’, emerging both from teen-orientated television dramas and as a topic of discussion among participants in an online forum, www.smartgirls.tv . It considers the relationship between teens and the media, and the implications for the development of cultural identities and practices. Identifying some key tenets of television dramas which have a girl’s connection with the supernatural at their core, and exploring reflections of on-line forum participants, I argue that the ‘Girls Find God’ narrative goes beyond a simple reinforcement of some historically inscribed relationships between divinity, gender and genius. While it is true that connectedness and service are maintained as the inevitable direction of girls’ talents and reinforced by a divine authority, this narrative also provides a locus for negotiation of what such hegemonic inscriptions might mean in contemporary contexts for girls.