Rural Sociology Commons^™

The Good Girl Bad Girl Dilemma: Exploring Rural Maine Girls' Sexual Desires, Behaviors, And Relationships, Mary Madden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past decade, feminist researchers have re-framed girls’ developmental issues examining the complexities inherent in growing up female in a patriarchal society. In particular, these studies have provided information on the complications girls encounter in their efforts to negotiate ideals of white middle-class conventions of femininity. In the few studies that examine how these ideals of femininity effect girls’ sexuality, rural girls from poor and working-class families are rarely considered. The goal of this study was to deepen and expand the current understanding of adolescent girls’ sexuality by bringing the voices of rural girls from poor and working-class families …