Archival Object 2: 4-H Girls Posing by Monument

This item is an undated photograph of three African American women standing in front of a monument wearing dresses or a uniform. This Archival object holds significance because it shows the attire of girls, or the expectations of the attire that girls should wear during that time. It can be used to show that the clothes that girls wore were socialized norms in heteronormative societies.

Arguably, society drove the creation of this photo. It shows small girls wearing longer dresses as opposed to the short, above the knee dresses that society condemns.

This Archival Object could be used by educators or historians who desired to seek or showcase the things that young girls wore. It could be also used by Feminist literary critics to showcase the socialization of girls at a young age.

This item relates to Kincaid’s “Girl” because it aligns with the mother’s advice of wearing certain clothes. The mother stressed long dresses, ones that had a “hem,” and this item shows the girls wearing long dresses similar to the dresses that the mother suggested.

This Archival Object helps the analysis of the text because it gives a photographed account of the process of socialization. It also drives the feminist criticism of the text because it showcases that there were gendered norms surrounding social life as well as attire. Girls were instructed by their family and socialized by societies to align to the norms of the heteronormative societies, which are present in “Girl.”

4-H Girls Posing by Monument. MSS 313 Robert and Sadye Wier Papers. Manuscripts Division, Special Collections Department, Mississippi State U Libraries, Mississippi State, msstate.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/charm/id/14678/rec/15. Accessed 03 Nov. 2020.