Learning Curves: Body Image and Female Sexuality in Young Adult Literature

Adolescence is a time of growth, change, and confusion for young women. During this transition from childhood to adulthood, sex and gender roles become more important. Meanwhile, depictions of females-from the hyper-sexualized girls of music videos to the chaste repression of Purity Balls-send mixed messages to young women about their bodies and their sexuality. Over the last several decades, authors of young adult novels have been challenged to reflect this concern in their work and have r...