Representations of STEM Girls and Content in Online Reviews of Young Adult Romances

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Contours of Adolescents' Online Authoring and Audiences

Abstract

This qualitative content analysis of 300 online reader reviews examines how members of a social media community engaged with STEM content in their reviews of young adult romance novels that feature girls interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics. The analysis found that reviewers generally praised the inclusion of STEM content and that most critique called for more attention to STEM. Some reviewers engaged with other members’ reviews to make arguments about the representation of STEM girls. This study contributes to understandings of how readers use the relatively new literacy practice of online reviews in a social media community to construct dialogic relationships with texts and other readers and provides insight into how readers celebrate and critique authors’ representations.

Author

• Amy Noelle Parks, Michigan State University