ABSTRACT
These stories illustrate the three faces of what the media would have us believe to be the ‘new breed’ of girls who behave badly. In the first, we are presented with an example of ‘girl power’ at its most excessive and gruesome, reinforcing the fear that girls are turning to sadistic violence in apparently unprecedented numbers. In the second, an unpleasant incident of schoolgirl bullying (something which has, arguably, always existed) is reconstructed as worthy of a local newspaper’s ‘Crimestopper’ spot, accompanied by an identikit picture of one of the suspects. In the third, readers are invited to regard under age pregnancy as an act of ‘near criminality’, and to contact the newspaper to say what they think about ‘girls of 15 having babies ... Is it a disgrace or do they make good mums? Ring us today!’.4
