Introduction: funhouse mirrors: popular culture's distorted view of girl/womanhood
Becoming a girl: pop culture's first stage of gender training
Reading between the lines: the lessons adolescent girls learn through popular young adult literature
The gendered self-help reel: how romantic comedies instruct women on dating dos and don'ts
Selling weddings and producing brides: mediated portrayals of that "perfect day"
Love, American style: gendered representations of marriage in the media
Nine months of fear & a lifetime of paranoia: the hidden effects of pregnancy manuals, child rearing products & more
Changing the playing (or reading) field: reconceptualizing motherhood through humorous parenting texts
Pumas, and cougars, and m.i.l.f.s., oh my!: popular portrayals of romance & sexual encounters between "the older woman" & younger man
Beyond the hot flashes: new portrayals of mature women
Conclusion: exiting the funhouse: challenging society's lessons one stage at a time.