Nuancing Representation of Global Girlhoods: Promises and Problematics

Abstract

This article explores the ethical implications of methods that seek to nuance mainstream representations of girls in the Global South during COVID-19. In response to what we observed as monolithic and highly sexualized framings of “Third-world” girls during the initial years of the coronavirus pandemic (2020–2023), we designed a two-part study that (a) examined the circulation and implications of discursive tropes on gendered risk with a focus on African girlhoods; and (b) collaborated with girls in Southern Malawi to construct longitudinal counternarratives based on lived experience during the pandemic’s early years. We reflect upon how each component may have mitigated or perpetuated problematic patterns in gendered representation. At the same time, we analyze the dilemmas transnational researchers face in positioning themselves to nuance global discourses and destabilize asymmetries in research collaboration. Finally, we consider new directions for girlhood studies methodologies.