How Pop Culture Shapes the Stages of a Woman’s Life

1. Introduction: Funhouse Mirrors — Popular Culture’s Distorted View of Girl/Womanhood
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

2. Becoming a Girl: Pop Culture’s First Stage of Gender Training
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

3. Reading Between the Lines: The Lessons Adolescent Girls Learn Through Popular Young Adult Literature
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

4. The Gendered Self-Help Reel: How Romantic Comedies Instruct Women on Dating Dos and Don’ts
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

5. Selling Weddings and Producing Brides: Mediated Portrayals of That ‘Perfect Day’
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

6. Love, American Style: Gendered Representations of Marriage in the Media
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

7. Nine Months of Fear and a Lifetime of Paranoia: The Hidden Effects of Pregnancy Manuals, Child Rearing Products, and More
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

8. Changing the Playing (or Reading) Field: Reconceptualizing Motherhood Through Humorous Parenting Texts
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

9. Pumas, and Cougars, and MILFs, Oh My!: Popular Portrayals of Romance and Sexual Encounters Between ‘The Older Woman’ and Younger Man
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

10. Beyond the Hot Flashes: New Portrayals of Mature Women
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

11. Conclusion: Exiting the Funhouse — Challenging Society’s Lessons One Stage at a Time
Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon

Keywords: Science, Science, general