This guide explores Lauren Greenfield's Girl Culture, a photography exhibition organized by the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and Girl Culture, the Chronicle Books publication.

The guide presents a selection of photographs and first-person narratives from the project, which examine the often painful social and emotional lives of girls and how, for so many, their well-being and self-esteem are tied to appearance. It addresses contemporary media, beauty and fashion industries, peers, and even parents as perpetuators of body identity issues that contribute to the sense that a female’s appearance is the primary expression of her worth and thus an ongoing project for improvement.

This site complements study in many subject areas, including art, photography, writing, popular culture, media arts, women's studies, sociology, psychology, literature, medicine, and history. Faculty can use numerous suggestions to engage students, from exploring the photographs and narrative texts to integrating exhibition content into course curriculum.

Sheena, 15 years old
Sheena, 15, tries on clothes with her friend Amber in a department store dressing room, San Jose, California. Click for larger image.

Allegra, Calli & Rose
Allegra, 4, Calli, 5, and Rose, 5, play dress-up, Malibu, California. Click for larger image.

Center for Creative Photography Curator of Education, Cass Fey, presents teaching strategies and resources that examine the photographs as aesthetically constructed visual texts to encourage discussion, description, interpretation, and the justification of students' opinions. The voices of photographer Lauren Greenfield, the girls and women she photographed and interviewed, author and scholar Joan Jacobs Brumberg, and exhibition curator Trudy Wilner Stack give context to exhibition images and themes.

Stanford University swim team
The Stanford University women's swim team, Palo Alto, California. Click for larger image.
You may click on the images throughout this guide for a larger version. All photographs are copyrighted and protected under United States and International copyright laws, and may not be reproduced in any form, stored, or manipulated without prior permission from Lauren Greenfield Photography.

from Lauren Greenfield's Girl Culture: Faculty Guide
Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona