Olivia Blazic Will the world ever truly be gender neutral? Gender is a social construct that can change from person to person, or culture to culture. Although it was very prevalent in each of the sections of books we viewed in Special Collections, it is a concept we made up. Throughout the Teens in Comics … Continue reading Gender Sells: Gender Displayed Through the Advertisements of Comic Books
Analysis of Etiquette in the 1900’s – Sandeep Rajan
During the two and a half hours that our Representing Adolescence class spent in the Special Collections room of the Hillman Library, I found myself especially intrigued by one of the tables in particular. Although the antique comics, magazines, and novels definitely had their appeal, the showcase of etiquette books astonished and amazed me the … Continue reading Analysis of Etiquette in the 1900’s – Sandeep Rajan
Archie’s Influence
Natalie Balzarini When we visited Special Collections, I was immediately drawn toward the table with a wide variety of comic books. Specifically, I was quite interested in taking a look at the old Archie comics. I had read a few Archie comics when I was younger, and I always thought it was cool that the … Continue reading Archie’s Influence
One Generation to the Next, Adolescents do NOT Change Very Much
(Archie comics, 1974) Imagine watching a current television show with characters that have distinctive names like Jughead, Archie, Veronica and Betty. These names, when said together, are easily identifiable, and for me, only related to the television show “Riverdale.” This was until I described the plot of the show to my mother who beamed and … Continue reading One Generation to the Next, Adolescents do NOT Change Very Much
Etiquette for Boys
Picture this: you’re at the Pitt vs. Penn State football game, Pitt’s biggest game of the year. There is one-minute left in the game and Pitt has just scored a touchdown to break the tie. Before you can celebrate, the ref throws a flag on the play. Your first instinct is to yell and boo … Continue reading Etiquette for Boys
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Erick Patterson In my two visits to Special Collections at the library, I saw a lot of interesting pieces from different time periods and many of them sparked my interest. It was fascinating seeing books, magazines, and comics from so long ago, still in amazing condition. It was also very interesting to see the different … Continue reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Secret Language
Julia Koehl When I was younger and in elementary school, you could always find me with a book. My older sisters once hid my favorite book from me so I would stop reading it. I carried this love of books and reading into middle school, high school, and now. It was more difficult to find … Continue reading The Secret Language
Look Pretty—Be Pretty
As I browsed the Etiquette section, my eyes were immediately drawn to a bright yellow book entitled Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide. It was published in 1951 and 1953. The cover displays pictures of the author, Betty Cornell—a smiling woman dressed nicely in a dress, heels, makeup, and accessories—with men looking at her and smiling; … Continue reading Look Pretty—Be Pretty
The Outsiders
The source I chose to interact with the an original printed copy of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. This novel, released in 1967 was very controversial at the time as it touches on themes of gang violence, abusive families, and underage drinking, it also uses strong language and slang. The particular copy that we have … Continue reading The Outsiders
Binky’s Blog: The American Teenager
Bradley Seltzer Comic book #81 of Binky was one of a large selection of cheesy and delightful comic books by DC Comics, this one in particular being printed in 1971. This issue looks like the average folded comic book. In these comics, Binky is your average friendly American teenage boy- he has good looks, prankster … Continue reading Binky’s Blog: The American Teenager
Representing Adolescence @ Pitt 