Presenting cutting-edge research from transnational scholars and activists, Difficult Dialogues about Twenty-First-Century Girls introduces original methodologies and girl-centered program design to the field of girls' studies. The editors pair progressive girls' studies research on topics such as differential privilege, voice, cultural values, and access to material resources, with provocative questions in order to further the thinking about issues that are often marginalized or overlooked in feminist domains. In addition, the book serves as a manual for educators and activists, designed to promote critical discussions that are accessible and includes a final dialogue with contemporary scholars about their work and the current direction of the field.

List of Illustrations Foreword: Difficult Dialogues Lyn Mikel Brown Acknowledgments Introduction: Girls' Studies: What's New? Donna Marie Johnson and Alice E. Ginsberg Part I: New Ways of Knowing About Girls 1. A Call to Action: Education Scholarship Meeting the Needs of African American Elementary and Secondary School Girls Donna Marie Johnson 2. Girl Uninterrupted: Using Interactive Voice Diaries as a Girls' Studies Research Method Dana Edell 3. "It Means that I Am Knowledge": GirlPAR as an Emergent Methodology Laura Boutwell and Faduma Guhad 4. "Talking Out of School": Crossing and Extending Borders with Collaborative Research in Girls' Studies, Women's Studies, and Teacher Education Sheila Hassell Hughes and Carolyn S. Ridenour 5. Stop Saving the Girl? Pedagogical Considerations for Transforming Girls' Studies Katy Strzepek 6. Beyond "Us" Versus "Them": Transnationalizing Girlhood Studies Shana L. Calixte Part II: Girl Power Redefined 7. High School Classrooms as Contested Sites of Future Feminist Power: Explicating Marginality Beyond Disadvantage into Power Kerrita K. Mayfield 8. From Cyborgs to Cybergrrrls: Redefining "Girl Power" Through Digital Literacy Leandra Preston-Sidler 9. "Off Balance": Talking About Girls' Health in the Era of the "Obesity Epidemic" Marie Drews 10. "Babies Havin' Babies": Examining Visual Representations of Teenage Pregnancy Candice J. Merritt 11. "At-Risk" for Greatness: Girls' Studies Programs and the Art of Growing Up Alice E. Ginsberg 12. Standing on Shoulders Strong: A Conversation with Leading Girls Studies Scholars Moderated by Dr. Donna Johnson Discussants: Lyn Mikel Brown, Peggy Orenstein, Stephanie Sears, Bianca L. Guzmán, Elline Lipkin, Sheila Hassell Hughes, and Alice Ginsberg List of Contributors Index