91ŃÇÉ« professor to discuss pressures on girls to show happiness

TORONTO, June 5, 2019 – While some admire tween girls wearing T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like “Hey you! Smile” and “When in Doubt, Laugh,” others suggest the T-shirts exemplify the pressure on young girlsĚýto limit their real feelings.

, assistant professor in 91ŃÇɫ’s Department of Communication Studies, researched how these message T-shirts affect the emotions of tween girls and found that they place a constant emphasis on smiling, being fun and looking happy, which precludes exhibiting other emotions.

Coulter will present her ongoing research at a lecture on Saturday, June 8, 2019 from 11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. in the Life Sciences Building at 91ŃÇɫ’s Keele campus (see #90 on the ).

Assistant Professor Natalie Coulter

“There is a lot of pressure on girls to smile and perform an emotion for the outside world that doesn’t exist internally, and this has negative, long-term implications,” said Coulter, an expert on young people’s media culture in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. “

Coulter says these T-shirts reinforce gender stereotypes with the ones aimed at young boys touting messages like “Eat. Sleep. Drink. Hockey,” while some T-shirts marketed to tween girls display messages such as “Happy Girls are the Prettiest.”

Her lecture will also address how these T-shirts function as a way to keeps girls from being political. Coulter says companies and clothing stores are positioning girlhood as a moment of fun, which limits the political possibilities for girls.

“One of the most poignant examples of this constant pressure on women to smile and be happy is the Clinton-Trump campaign,” said Coulter. “After every debate in the last U.S presidential election, Donald Trump could just stand there looking solemn and nobody cared, but Hillary Clinton had to perform, with a wave and a smile, and be happy and jubilant afterward, or she would face the wrath.”

Coulter’s research and teaching focuses on girls’ studies, critical advertising studies, and the media cultures of children and young people, with an emphasis on the social construction of marketing niches such as tween girls.

She has written extensively about young girls and tween girls, authoring and co-authoring more than 20 published journal articles and books. She co-edited Ěý, a look at the emotional experiences of young people as they actively use media in order to forge communities, published last year. She wrote , a book that explains how the preteen girl is a product of the marketing and media industries carving them out as a separate marketing niche.

Coulter’s talk is part of , a free day of presentations by leading 91ŃÇÉ« professors speaking about their research to an audience of 91ŃÇÉ« students, parents of students, alumni, friends and neighbours of the university.

NOTE: Members of the public are required to . Members of the media should advise Media Relations at the contact below.

91ŃÇÉ« champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91ŃÇÉ« students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91ŃÇÉ« U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91ŃÇÉ« is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

91ŃÇÉ« U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91ŃÇÉ« Media Relations, 647-654-9452,Ěývthomps@yorku.ca

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Natalie Coulter, Assistant Professor of communication studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

TORONTO, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 – In a world dominated by social media, how do tween girls see themselves and how are their identities shaped by representations in the media and company advertising? Join the conversation on Girls & Identity: Tweens & Teens Thursday in Toronto.

Advertising directed at tweens suggest being a tween girl is all fun and friendship, but what does that mean for those caught in this in-between age? Are companies hitting their mark and how are these tweens responding and engaging?

WHAT: Conversation on what it means to be a tween girl today

WHO: ,ĚýAssistant Professor of communication studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, will moderate the conversation.

WHEN: 6 to 8pm on Thursday, Oct. 26

WHERE: ĚýRegent Park Aquatic Centre, 640 Dundas St. E., Toronto

The event is part one of a Community Conversation Series.

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Ěýis known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91ŃÇÉ« students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91ŃÇÉ« U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91ŃÇÉ« is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91ŃÇÉ« U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91ŃÇÉ« Media Relations, 647-654-9452,Ěýsandramc@yorku.ca

The post What does it mean to be a tween girl today? appeared first on News@91ŃÇÉ«.