Maiden

In the foggy borderlands between girlhood and womanhood, narratives of appropriate behaviour are enforced with newfound vigour, curtailing wayward youth and corralling women into adherence to the expectations of the adult world. This corralling takes a variety of forms in a variety of contexts, both subtle and overt. Developing bodies are punished, sometimes violently, for their failure to adhere to pristine standards of mass media depictions. Understandings of the world are shattered as new dynamics emerge, and girls are accused of naïvité for their failure to keep up, or cynicism for their ability to. Emotional outbursts are suppressed. Sexuality is circumscribed: be sexual but not too sexual, erotically tempting but not erotically aggressive, pair off with a nice man as quickly as possible. As Wilshire points out in Virgin Mother Crone, ‘It must be noted here that historically “virgin” does not mean “celibate” but rather refers to “an autonomous female who belongs to herself”’ (Wilshire, 1994, p. 21). Autonomy and the ability to belong to oneself are contested grounds for young women. In the ‘Maiden’ section of this book, Bec Kavanagh, Simone Howell, Moy McCrory, and Jane Barker explore the ways that young women's bodies and minds are policed, and their abilities to belong to themselves are challenged, punished, violated, lost and reclaimed.