"Growing up Girl traces the lives of girls from their early childhood to young adulthood to explore how transformations in class identities are impacting on their lives. Set against a backdrop of deindustrialization, rising male unemployment, and the feminization of the labor market, the authors challenge the view that girls of this generation can take control of their lives, and argue that it is still social class which determines their prospects for educational achievement and for their life courses.".

"Following three groups of girls through data spanning nearly twenty years, the volume sheds light on the social, cultural, and psychological dynamics confronting young women today. It highlights the fragility and the fiction of the "I can have everything" girls, providing a ground-breaking and sobering antidote to platitudes about a feminine future. The author's arguments are vividly illustrated with quotations from the research participants.

Growing Up Girl is essential reading for all those concerned with the lives of girls and women today."--BOOK JACKET.