How Pop Culture Shapes the Stages of a Woman's Life : From Toddlers-in-Tiaras to Cougars-on-the-Prowl (Paperback)

Acknowledgments Introduction. Funhouse Mirrors: Popular Culture's Distorted View of Girl/Womanhood 1. Becoming a Girl: Pop Culture's First Stage of Gender Training 2. Reading between the Lines: The Lessons Adolescent Girls Learn through Popular Young Adult Literature 3. The Gendered Self-Help Reel: How Romantic Comedies Instruct Women on Dating Dos and Don'ts 4. Selling Weddings and Producing Brides: Mediated Portrayals of that 'Perfect Day' 5. Love, American Style: Gendered Representations of Marriage in the Media 6. Nine Months of Fear & A Lifetime of Paranoia: The Hidden Effects of Pregnancy Manuals, Child Rearing Products & More 7. Changing the Playing (or Reading) Field: Reconceptualizing Motherhood through Humorous Parenting Texts 8. Pumas, and Cougars, and M.I.L.F.S., Oh My!: Popular Portrayals of Romance & Sexual Encounters Between 'The Older Woman' & Younger Man 9. Beyond the Hot Flashes: New Portrayals of Mature Women Conclusion. Exiting the Funhouse: Challenging Society's Lessons One Stage at a Time Bibliography