The Hidden Life of Girls Games of Stance, Status, and Exclusion [Paperback]

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

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