'A Song in Search of a Voice that is Silent': Feminist Readings of When She Hollers and Touching Earth Lightly

Authors

  • Anna Beth McCormack

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/pecl2002vol12no3art1299

Keywords:

Cynthia Voigt, Margo Lanagan, feminism, incest, sexual abuse, When She Hollers, Touching Earth Lightly

Abstract

In lieu of abstract, here is the first paragraph of the article:

Arguably, the subject most silent in literature for children and young adults is sexual abuse - particularly incest. And when it is mentioned, it is likely to be treated softly (examples being The Year of Freaking Out by Sarah Walker and The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine). Sexual abuse is arguably the subject that should be loudest in literature for children and young adults. as it affects perhaps a third of all girls and some fewer boys, and their children, and is destructive to the point of death. (See the Data appendix.) Yet for sexually abused children. their song is largely silent.  

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References

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Dworkin, Andrea (1974) Woman Hating. New York, E.P. Dutton.

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Hollindale, Peter (1988) 'Ideology and the children's book'. Signal 55: 3-22; reprinted in Peter Hunt (ed) (1992) Literature for Children: Contemporary Criticism. London and New York, Routledge, pp. 18-40.

Lanagan, Margo (I 996) Touching Earth Lightly. St Leonards NSW, Allen & Unwin.

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Stephens, John (1992)'Language and Ideology in Children's Fiction. New York and London, Longman.

Voigt, Cynthia (1994) When She Hollers. New York, Scholastic.

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Published

2002-12-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

“’A Song in Search of a Voice that is Silent’: Feminist Readings of When She Hollers and Touching Earth Lightly” (2002) Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature, 12(3), pp. 28–34. doi:10.21153/pecl2002vol12no3art1299.

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