A Nation of Girls Stuck in the Valley: Mapping the Valley Girl in US Teen Media.

  • Published In: JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies, 2025, v. 65, n. 2. P. 31 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Leppert, Alice 3 of 3

Abstract

One of the most prominent icons of 1980s US popular culture was the Valley girl—a white, suburban super consumer imbued with both teen girl aspiration and widespread disgust. Analyzing 1980s and 1990s teen film and television, alongside popular press coverage of the Valley girl phenomenon, I argue that this figure distills deep cultural ambivalence about suburbia and consumerism into a misogynist critique of girl culture during a period of prominence for teen media and girls' consumer power. Teen media depictions of Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley shift over time yet routinely narrate the necessity for girls to escape its confines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies. 2025/12, Vol. 65, Issue 2, p31
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:2578-4900
  • Accession Number:191434091
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies is the property of Society of Cinema & Media Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Looking to go deeper into this topic? Look for more articles on EBSCOhost.