My thesis, ARB GRLZ, is an accessible, young adult, blog-style work that will address how external and internal cultural factors converge to dictate Arab-American female identity. Taking inspiration from blogs I admire, most specifically Rookie, founded in 2011 by Tavi Gevinson, I explore what they could become by centering the experience of Arab-American girls. If the subjectivity of articles written in these magazines were to change, their content would begin to focus on issues more pertinent to an adolescent Arab-American girl, rather than primarily white or multi-generational American girls. Using theoretical frameworks from W.E.B Du Bois, Edward Said, Neda Maghbouleh, and Nadine Naber, among others, I explore and attempt to disrupt traditional notions of youth, naivety, and girlhood. I do so by mixing poetry, personal narrative, and interviews to create a both formal and informal guide for Arab-American girls, while commenting on prevailing systems of subjugation that induce the need for such a guide in the first place. For context in my work, I outline with a critical feminist reading the background of Arab immigration and assimilation into the United States. Race, and its contemporary effects, is one of the primary focuses of this background. Additionally, I discuss the reverberations of that migration, its effect on first-generation Arab youth growing up in the United States, and the contemporary bifurcation of the adolescent Arab girl. Weaved throughout is commentary from Arab-American female poets and writers, bolstering my research's grounding in the lived experience of the Arab American girl. By creating this project, I am building a new dimension to the websites and magazines I frequented so often as a teenage girl, altering them so that they fit what I needed at that age. In doing this, I hope to leave behind material that can be consumed by young women who may find themselves in a similar place.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Arab","Girl","Immigration"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 24087