How to be a Ragazza

The sexualization of everyday life is currently more than a reality; it is a fact to be taken into account in adolescent development. Given its widespread expansion, it has become established as a determining factor in the construction of identities. In Portugal, the relationship with the media is recent, mainly due to the repression of the dictatorship (1933-74), which contributed to various social delays. We therefore aim to contribute to knowledge about the production of media content for teenage girls in Portugal, to understand the discursive constructions available on sexuality and female identity, and to explore the implications for girls of these discourses of self-construction. The results of the Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Ragazza's content point to discourses similar to those found in previous foreign literature (e.g., Brown Travis, Meginnis & Bardari, 2000; Jackson, 2005a; Jackson & Westrupp, 2010), combining sexuality, identity, and appearance. These allow us to conclude that when a girl enters adolescence, she already has a repertoire of roles, scripts, and functions that she must take into account in order to achieve a (heterosexual) relationship.

Autorentext

She holds a bachelor's and doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Minho (PT). She is currently pursuing her postdoctoral studies at the Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences of the University of Porto (PT). She is also a visiting researcher at the Center for Education and Social Sciences of the University of Minho (PT) and the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Seville (ES). She is also a trainer in gender equality and a feminist activist.