'A voice of a generation': Girls and the problem of representation

Abstract

Girls has been understood by many as ‘a generational document’ (Woods, 2015, p. 38) that fails to adequately represent the diversity of young women in today’s multicultural world. Why Girls is seen as the ‘voice of a generation’ despite the creator Lena Dunham’s suggestion that she is merely ‘a’ voice is key to understanding the weight placed on representational politics in contemporary society. This chapter examines why we make demands about diverse representation, and what we hope these will achieve. It also considers the context within which representations of diversity are inserted, and the cruel promises for equality these engender. This chapter suggests a rethinking of representational..