This article explores U.S. teenage girls' rejections of
“politics,” arguing that for some girls, the refusal to
identify with politics is a discursive strategy informed by their
consciousness of inequality and their commitments to social justice.
Drawing upon interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, I show
how two different groups of girls reflect on their varied experiences of
political marginalization as aged, gendered, racialized, and classed
subjects in order to develop a critique of the practices and policies of
the U.S. government. Building on research on the various and complex
meanings of political disaffection, I argue that defining politics very
narrowly and then distancing oneself from it can be part of an
oppositional political project, and I address myself to the implications
and mechanisms of girls' use of this strategy.The author would like to thank France Winddance Twine, Verta
Taylor, Avery Gordon, Richard Flacks, Leila Rupp, and the editors and
reviewers from Politics & Gender for their insightful
comments and assistance in the development of this article. This material
is based upon work supported under a National Science Foundation Graduate
Research Fellowship.