Cutting edge research into trends and social contexts of girls' violence.

From Nausicaä to Sailor Moon, understanding girl heroines of manga and anime within otaku culture.

Today's twisted pictures of gender roles create confusion over how a woman should define herself. Women and men are encouraged to move closer to center and away from the traits that distinguish male from female. How can women feel good about themselves when society is constantly dictating what they can and should be? In FIGHT LIKE A GIRL, Lisa Bevere exhorts us to embrace the differences between sexes. Her goal is to encourage women to celebrate the unique aspects of femininity. Instead of trying to adopt ill-fitting character traits, women should see themselves as designed and valued by God and savor their femininity as their strength, not a flaw.

In low-income U.S. cities, street fights between teenage girls are common. These fights take place at school, on street corners, or in parks, when one girl provokes another to the point that she must either “step up” or be labeled a “punk.” Typically, when girls engage in violence that is not strictly self-defense, they are labeled “delinquent,” their actions taken as a sign of emotional pathology. However, in Why Girls Fight, Cindy D. Ness demonstrates that in poor urban areas this kind of street fighting is seen as a normal part of girlhood and a necessary way to earn respect among peers, as well as a way for girls to attain a sense of mastery and self-esteem in a social setting where legal opportunities for achievement are not otherwise easily available. Ness spent almost two years in west and northeast Philadelphia to get a sense of how teenage girls experience inflicting physical harm and the meanings they assign to it. While most existing work on girls’ violence deals exclusively with gangs, Ness sheds new light on the everyday street fighting of urban girls, arguing that different cultural standards associated with race and class influence the relationship that girls have to physical aggression.

A well sourced and important workbook/toolkit, Take Action: Fighting for Women & Girls covers the basics of activism and advocacy and gives the reader specific information about four issues related to girls, women, and gender equality: the power and importance of education, expanding economic opportunities, eliminating gender-based violence, and participating in politics and public life. This book will help would-be activists start their work and stay focused and goal-oriented.

Ten hard-as-nails women face off in an ancient contest of champions where the winner truly takes all: the title of “Queen of the Galaxy.” To win the challenge each contestant must survive the hazards of the planet’s harsh landscape, the ferocious predators on and below its surface, and their fellow contestants. This edition of the contest has a twist: one of the contestants is an infiltrator who has her eye on something bigger than the prize. Who is she and what does she really want?

LEARN HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SECURITY, OUTSMART THE BAD GUY, AND EMPOWER YOURSELF WITH 26 SELF-DEFENSE DECISIONS THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.