Sharpe interviewed young girls in the 1970s and the 1990s, finding there was a significant shift in their ambitions.
In the 1970s, girls saw educational success as unfeminine and unattractive, instead focusing time and effort into finding a husband.
In the 1990s, girls prioritised their careers and being financially independent. They needed good grades to achieve this, helping to explain why girls achieve so highly compared to boys.
How does Fuller's study demonstrate how girls may have high aspirations?
Even though they were placed at a disadvantage (though placed at bottom sets due to their race, rather than their gender), the girls worked hard to pursue academic success anyway.
How can changing ambitions be linked to previous external factors discussed in this topic?
Feminism has helped to raise girls' aspirations as they feel less restricted by traditional gender norms.
Increased divorce rates leads to girls aspiring to pursue careers before or even instead of pursuing marriage.
Strength 😊: Postmodernists agree that women's ambitions have changed. There is now more individualism is society allowing girls to deviate from traditional gender norms.
Weakness 😭: There are class differences in how far girl's ambitions have changed. Reay argues that working class girls continue to have stereotypical aspirations of marriage and children. They feel a traditional gender identity (becoming a housewife) is more attainable than paid labour.
