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(Source: Author's website)
Notes
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Also available in sound recording format.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it contains Chinese characters.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Constructions of Female Selves in Adolescent Fiction: Makeovers as Metonym
1999
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , April vol. 9 no. 1 1999; (p. 5-13)In this article, Stephens examines the makeover as a 'specialized form of feminine discourse' (5) by looking at how it is represented in adolescent fictions. Stephens' comparative approach discusses several novels by Australian authors of children's literature in conjunction with discourses from popular culture and explores the links between teenage magazines and adolescent fiction. He uses Judith Butler's concept of gender performativity to highlight the dialogic relationship between identity as 'performance' and identity as 'expression' (5) pointing out that the former is often equated with nihilism, while (neo)humanist conceptualisations of the subject usually privilege 'expression' in narratives of adolescent identity formation: 'By realizing the physical or exterior body...the makeover metonymically expresses a character's unfolding inferiority...But when the fictions represent a character whose subjectivity is 'merely' performative...that character is apt to be radically alienated and possibly tragic' (5). For Stephens, the implicit function of makeover narratives is either transformative or cautionary based upon the notion that the 'transformed body' acts semiotically as a 'metonym of growth' (6). Stephens conludes that makeover narratives in teenage adolescent fiction for girls generally adhere to the dominant humanist paradigm of subjectivity in which 'self identity is defined by how an individual is valued by others' (5) and as the 'expression of a substantial self' which acts as a stable and innate ground for choice and agency' (12)
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God's One Country : The Description of Asians by Australian Children's Authors
1997
single work
criticism
— Appears in: La Trobe Library Journal , Spring no. 60 1997; (p. 62-73) 'This paper will examine some of the representations made of Asian characters in Australian children's literature, with particular reference to the image of Chinese, who are the Asian people most frequently alluded before World War I and who have continued to be present in more recent writing' (62). -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 11 no. 3 1996; (p. 34)
— Review of Goddess of Cool 1996 single work novel -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Spring vol. 4 no. 3 1996; (p. 36)
— Review of Goddess of Cool 1996 single work novel -
Serial Fictions
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 181 1996; (p. 60-61)
— Review of Checkers 1996 single work novel ; West End Shuffle 1996 single work novel ; Goddess of Cool 1996 single work novel
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Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 11 no. 3 1996; (p. 34)
— Review of Goddess of Cool 1996 single work novel -
Serial Fictions
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 181 1996; (p. 60-61)
— Review of Checkers 1996 single work novel ; West End Shuffle 1996 single work novel ; Goddess of Cool 1996 single work novel -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Spring vol. 4 no. 3 1996; (p. 36)
— Review of Goddess of Cool 1996 single work novel -
God's One Country : The Description of Asians by Australian Children's Authors
1997
single work
criticism
— Appears in: La Trobe Library Journal , Spring no. 60 1997; (p. 62-73) 'This paper will examine some of the representations made of Asian characters in Australian children's literature, with particular reference to the image of Chinese, who are the Asian people most frequently alluded before World War I and who have continued to be present in more recent writing' (62). -
Constructions of Female Selves in Adolescent Fiction: Makeovers as Metonym
1999
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , April vol. 9 no. 1 1999; (p. 5-13)In this article, Stephens examines the makeover as a 'specialized form of feminine discourse' (5) by looking at how it is represented in adolescent fictions. Stephens' comparative approach discusses several novels by Australian authors of children's literature in conjunction with discourses from popular culture and explores the links between teenage magazines and adolescent fiction. He uses Judith Butler's concept of gender performativity to highlight the dialogic relationship between identity as 'performance' and identity as 'expression' (5) pointing out that the former is often equated with nihilism, while (neo)humanist conceptualisations of the subject usually privilege 'expression' in narratives of adolescent identity formation: 'By realizing the physical or exterior body...the makeover metonymically expresses a character's unfolding inferiority...But when the fictions represent a character whose subjectivity is 'merely' performative...that character is apt to be radically alienated and possibly tragic' (5). For Stephens, the implicit function of makeover narratives is either transformative or cautionary based upon the notion that the 'transformed body' acts semiotically as a 'metonym of growth' (6). Stephens conludes that makeover narratives in teenage adolescent fiction for girls generally adhere to the dominant humanist paradigm of subjectivity in which 'self identity is defined by how an individual is valued by others' (5) and as the 'expression of a substantial self' which acts as a stable and innate ground for choice and agency' (12)