ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the emergence of the concept of girl power in the 1990s and feminist responses to its various configurations. It makes the case for how the concept of girl power is linked to the emergence of the field of girlhood studies and continues to shape it in important ways. While initially, there was some excitement about how girl power disrupted hegemonic notions of femininity with a new focus on agency, power, and self-determination, feminist critiques of the concept link it to neoliberalism and the inculcation of neoliberal subjectivities in young women and girls. It is seen as having appropriated some feminist concepts but turned them into consumable products, devoid of feminist politics. The chapter also traces how the concept of girl power has travelled globally. While girl power itself may have receded in public discourse, its framing of girls and girlhood are ubiquitous. Two examples are presented – the ways in which girl activists are represented in the media and the corporate investment in girls in the Global South. Both examples show how the visibility of girls now requires exceptionality, which has become the globally dominant framing of girls and girlhood.
