Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy: Too Much of a Girl? (Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences)

This book explores the ways in which young women negotiate gendered and classed identities in nightlife venues. With a particular focus on the under-researched phenomenon of the ‘girls’ night out’, this text explores tensions around what it means to be ‘girly’ in bars, pubs and clubs, examining throughout the ways in which being a ‘girly girl’ is simultaneously desired and derided in a postfeminist context. Drawing on research conducted in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, this original and comprehensive book explores the value and meaning of the ‘girls’ night out’ for young women, and its instrumental role in the negotiation of friendships and femininities. Nicholls covers a range of themes, including alcohol consumption, dress, and risk management, providing engaging and timely insights into women’s leisure as a site for the negotiation of gendered identities. __Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy__ will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences with an interest in gender, class and the Night-Time Economy. Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 1: Introduction 10 Introduction 10 Theorising Femininities 13 Sex and Gender 13 ‘Appropriate’ Femininities? Passivity, Respectability and Control 15 ‘New’ Femininities? Neoliberalism, Post-feminism and ‘Girlpower’ 17 Whose Femininities? Class and Othering 22 Researching Femininities in the Night-Time Economy 26 Introduction to the Night-Time Economy 27 The ‘Girls’ Night Out’ Project 29 Symbolic Interactionism and Embodiment 31 Reflexivity and Positionality 34 Structure of This Book 36 References 38 2: Carefree or Controlled? Understanding the Night-Time Economy 47 Introduction 47 The History and Development of the Contemporary NTE 48 The History, Creation and ‘Feminisation’ of the Night-­Time Economy 48 Pleasure and the Carnivalesque: Hedonism or Regulation? 51 Class, Consumption and Leisure in Neoliberal Contexts 56 Understanding Newcastle’s Night-Time Economy: Study Location and Participant Backgrounds 63 ‘Out on the Toon’: Study Location 63 The Girls’ Night Out Project: Participant Backgrounds 67 ‘Not Them Kinda Bigg Market Fans’: Spatial Distinctions in Newcastle’s NTE 73 Conclusion 78 References 80 3: ‘It’s Girl Time’: Girliness and Friendships 89 Introduction 89 ‘The Giggles and the Memories’: ‘Doing’ Friendships 91 ‘The Centre of My World’: The Importance of ‘Girl Time’ and Female Friendship 93 Alcohol, Intimacy and Funny Stories 96 ‘Proper Girly Time’: ‘Doing’ Girliness 102 What Does It Mean to Be Girly? 103 ‘I Like the Way It Looks’: Reconfiguring Alcohol as ‘Girly’ 106 Making an Effort: Looking Girly 111 ‘Sometimes I Just Don’t Feel Like One of the Girls’: Policing and Resisting Expectations Around Drinking and Dress 116 Conclusion 122 References 124 4: ‘Rowdy...? That’s the Whole Point of Going on a Night Out’: Time Out, Transgression and Control 131 Introduction 131 Girls’ Night Off? Time Out and Transgression 133 Living for the Weekend? Freedom, Release and Escape 133 Getting Drunk, Loud and Rowdy 139 ‘They Literally Just Go Out to Stand and Look Perfect All Night’: Girly Girls 146 Crossing the Line? ‘Fun’ but Not a ‘State’ 151 Knowing Your Limits: Staying in Control 152 Excessive Drinking: Losing Control 156 Class, Othering and Authenticity 161 Conclusion 167 References 169 5: ‘What Else About Her Is Fake?’: ‘Emphasised’ Femininity, Authenticity and Appearance 176 Introduction 176 The Value, Pleasures and Ambiguities of Doing Femininity 178 Getting It Right: ‘Emphasised’ Femininity and the Pleasures of Looking Girly 178 ‘Tomboy... ish’: The Ambivalences of Doing, Resisting and ‘Flashing’ Girly 183 ‘No-One Likes a Trier’: Excessive Femininities 189 Fitting In, ‘Fakeness’ and (In)authenticity 190 Tasteful or Tacky? Class, Glamour and Geordie Identity 197 Conclusion 205 References 208 6: ‘People Don’t See You if You’re a Woman and You’re Not Really Dressed Up’: Visibility and Risk 213 Introduction 213 Risks and Responsibilities 215 Comfort and Fitting In 221 Comfort and Familiarity 221 ‘I Felt Misplaced in There’: ‘Risky’ Spaces 225 ‘Too Much of a Girl?’ Risk and Visibility 230 The Trivialisation of Sexual Violence 230 Visibility and ‘Dulling It Down’ 233 ‘Cooling Off’ and ‘Leading On’ 240 ‘I Can Pack a Half-Decent Punch’: Resisting Narratives of Vulnerability and Passivity 245 Conclusion 250 References 253 7: Conclusion 259 Introduction 259 ‘Running the Tightrope’: Tensions and Contradictions in Negotiations of Femininity 260 Girly Girly, Tomboy(ish) or Too Much of a Girl? 264 Authenticity, Control and Visibility 266 Contribution and Implications 269 Suggestions for Future Research 274 Conclusion 278 References 279 References 285 Index 307 "This book explores the ways in which young women negotiate gendered and classed identities in nightlife venues. With a particular focus on the under-researched phenomenon of the 'girls' night out', this text explores tensions around what it means to be 'girly' in bars, pubs and clubs, examining throughout the ways in which being a 'girly girl' is simultaneously desired and derided in a postfeminist context. Drawing on research conducted in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, this original and comprehensive book explores the value and meaning of the 'girls' night out' for young women, and its instrumental role in the negotiation of friendships and femininities. Nicholls covers a range of themes, including alcohol consumption, dress, and risk management, providing engaging and timely insights into women's leisure as a site for the negotiation of gendered identities. Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences with an interest in gender, class and the Night-Time Economy."-- Provided by publisher "This book explores the ways in which young women negotiate gendered and classed identities in nightlife venues. Whith a particular focus on the under-researched phenomenon of the 'girls' night out', this text explores tensions around what it means to be 'girly' in bars, pubs and clubs, examining throughout the ways in which being a 'girly girl' is simultaneously desired and derided in a postfeminist context. Drawing on research conducted in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, this original and comprehensive book explores the value and meaning of the 'girls' night out' for young women, and its instrumental role in the negotiation of friendships and femininities. Nicholls covers a range of themes, including alcohol consumption, dress, and risk management, providing engaging and timely insights into women's leisure as a site for the negotiation of gendered identities. Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy should be read by students and scholars across the social sciences with an interest in gender, class and the night-time economy"--Back cover Front Matter ....Pages i-viii Introduction (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 1-37 Carefree or Controlled? Understanding the Night-Time Economy (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 39-80 ‘It’s Girl Time’: Girliness and Friendships (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 81-122 ‘Rowdy...? That’s the Whole Point of Going on a Night Out’: Time Out, Transgression and Control (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 123-167 ‘What Else About Her Is Fake?’: ‘Emphasised’ Femininity, Authenticity and Appearance (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 169-205 ‘People Don’t See You if You’re a Woman and You’re Not Really Dressed Up’: Visibility and Risk (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 207-252 Conclusion (Emily Nicholls)....Pages 253-278 Back Matter ....Pages 279-308