The Hidden Life of Girls

Winner of the Best Book of 2008 from The International Gender and Language Association

In this ground-breaking ethnography of girls on a playground, Goodwin offers a window into their complex social worlds.

• Combats stereotypes that have dominated theories on female moral development by challenging the notion that girls are inherently supportive of each other
• Examines the stances that girls on a playground in a multicultural school setting assume and shows how they position themselves in their peer groups
• Documents the language practices and degradation rituals used to sanction friends and to bully others
• Part of the Blackwell Studies in Discourse and Culture Series