How pop culture shapes the stages of a woman's life

"Popular culture has created a slew of stereotypical roles for girls and women to (willingly or not) play throughout their lives: the Princess, the Diva, the Bridezilla, the Tiger Mother, the M.I.L.F, the Cougar, and more. In this book, Ames and Burcon investigate the role of cultural texts in gender socialization at specific pre-scripted stages of a woman's life and how that instruction compounds over time. By studying various texts (magazines, blogs, tweets, television shows, films, and self-help books) they argue that popular culture exists as a type of funhouse mirror constantly distorting the real world conditions that exist for women. Despite the many problematic, conflicting messages women receive throughout their lives, this book also showcases the ways they are resisted, allowing women to move past the blurry reality they broadcast and toward, hopefully, gender equality."--Back cover.