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Female Beauty in Young Adult Literature: Male gaze in Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap and John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines

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Date Issued:
2018
Abstract/Description:
Standards of female beauty have long been a source of debate within Western society. Determining who dictates these standards of beauty and how these standards inform individual value seemingly become more and more determined by the individuals themselves, yet there remains a high value placed on white, thin and cisgender females. This standard, although increasingly challenged remains the default for beauty in our society and within our literary culture. This thesis works to expose two modern Young Adult texts, John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines and Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap, for the ways in which they continue to reinforce these standards of beauty in women. While presenting challenges to these stereotypes, the standards set out in these texts ultimately portray women as defined and controlled by men.
Title: Female Beauty in Young Adult Literature: Male gaze in Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap and John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines.
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Name(s): Council, Nicole, author
Bradford, Adam C., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department of English
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2018
Date Issued: 2018
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 68 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Standards of female beauty have long been a source of debate within Western society. Determining who dictates these standards of beauty and how these standards inform individual value seemingly become more and more determined by the individuals themselves, yet there remains a high value placed on white, thin and cisgender females. This standard, although increasingly challenged remains the default for beauty in our society and within our literary culture. This thesis works to expose two modern Young Adult texts, John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines and Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap, for the ways in which they continue to reinforce these standards of beauty in women. While presenting challenges to these stereotypes, the standards set out in these texts ultimately portray women as defined and controlled by men.
Identifier: FA00005967 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Young adult literature
Feminine beauty (Aesthetics) in literature
Gaze
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005967
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.