A little girl becomes a feminist scholar

I traveled the world talking to young people to learn how they’ll shape our future and to learn what they value, discussed in my three other books about global youth. I’ve always cared about the under-dog. When I was in fourth grade the teacher asked me to go outside with a girl who was being bullied by the class because she knew I cared about her. My Ph.D. is in Religious Studies, but when I started teaching at CSUC they asked me to lead the Women’s Studies program. I enjoyed developing new courses in a variety of fields. It’s not surprising that I sent so much time writing Brave to empower young women.

Gayle Kimball. Brave: Young Women’s Global Revolution (in two volumes,  Vol. 1: Global Themes  & Vol. 2: Regional Activism). [Equality Press], 2017. With introduction, b/w photographs and notes. x, 373 pp &  xiv, 643 pp.

Finally, we hear the authentic voices of girls and young women from around the globe, from the traditional to the radical. Encompassing interviews and fieldwork from 88 countries, sociologist Gayle Kimball brings together over a decade of original research on female youth. Such research is sorely lacking, as most other works of this kind are regional and/or discuss youth without including their voices. Kimball goes beyond standardized internet surveys of middle-class youth, with in-depth video interviews available on the companion blog, https://globalyouthbook.wordpress.com, of young women from the favelas of Brazil to the upper-class in Saudi Arabia. Some of the interviews and contacts went on for over a decade as the young women moved into adulthood, and Kimball traveled for much of the research.

A monumental piece of research and analysis from Feminist Standpoint Theory, Kimball includes and compares other notable surveys of youth and women’s issues in the two volumes. Don’t expect to hear only feminist voices---traditional young women speak clearly in these pages as well. A good history of feminism and what it means today to young women is part of the essential reading in Brave. Both volumes discuss the impact of neo-liberal policies, war, non-violent resistance, and upheavals.

Other books in the series include Ageism in Youth Studies: Generation Maligned (Cambridge Scholars, 2017); How Global Youth Values Will Transform Our Future (Cambridge Scholars, 2018); Resist! Goals and Tactics for Changemakers (Equality Press, 2018);  Your Mindful Guide to Academic Success: Prevent Burnout (Equality Press, 2018), Answers to Kids' Deep Questions in Photos, and Democracy Uprisings Led by Global Youth (forthcoming).