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

List of Figures and Tables. Preface. Acknowledgments. 1. Introduction. 2. Multimodality, Conflict, and Rationality in Girls’ Games. 3. Social Dimensions of a Popular Girls’ Clique. 4. Social Organization, Opposition, and Directives in the Game of Jump Rope. 5. Language Practices for Indexing Social Status: Stories, Descriptions, Brags, and Comparisons. 6. Stance and Structure in Assessment and Gossip Activity. 7. Constructing Social Difference and Exclusion in Girls’ Groups. 8. Conclusion. Appendix A: Transcription Symbols. Appendix B: Jump Rope Rhymes. Notes. References. Author Index. Subject Index