McGILL WEB GEMS

Girl (culture) power and a month full of Sundays

BY MARK SHAINBLUM | Join us as we unearth the hidden gems and secret places on the websites of McGill University and its affiliated institutions.

Girl Culture
http://girlculture.mcgill.ca

This website, created by Professor Claudia Mitchell of the Faculty of Education, is the online companion to Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia, a massive two-volume work she co-authored with Jacqueline Reid-Walsh of Bishop's University. Girl Culture is hot off the presses from Greenwood Press and is all about trolls, My Little Pony, Barbie, Bratz, My Scene, Nancy Drew mysteries, school uniforms, prom dresses and the other archetypes of popular culture aimed at the X chromosome crowd. But the authors don't shy away from hot-button issues, like advertising geared toward very young girls emphasizing sexuality and extreme thinness.

The Girl Culture website's actually a little behind the times, talking about the encyclopedia in the future tense and discussing "proposed" topics for inclusion, but it's fun and a worthwhile read nonetheless. And while you still have the chance, don't miss the modest but truly fun Girl Culture Exhibit still on at the Faculty of Education Library, 3700 McTavish Street, 1st floor.

The Sunday School Collection
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/sunday/themes.htm

And just for contrast, here's a weirdly similar (and yet, totally different) look at the culture of Sunday School books published in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Just like Girl Culture, this website examines Sunday Schools and the unique culture they spawned from a socio-historical perspective, from their invention in 16th century Scotland through to their height in the late 19th century.