MACMILLAN Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy: Too Much of a Girl? (Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences)

Review “Nicholls graphically brings to life the tensions and contradictions young women face on a night out. However, this book is much more than a definitive study of the infamous ‘girls night out’. Nicholls makes a significant contribution to feminist thinking, urban sociology, and nightlife and alcohol studies, by providing a nuanced, sensitive, and comprehensive treatment of gendered and classed experiences of the neo-liberal night-time economy.” (Robert Hollands, Newcastle University, UK)“With this book, Nicholls serves up a richly detailed exploration of the pleasures and pains of negotiating femininity in the Night Time Economy. This fascinating sociological examination of the intersections of class, gender and sexuality on the ‘Girls’ Night Out’ is expertly set against the social and spatial terrain of Newcastle-Upon-Type, a party city where the contested boundaries of sociability, identity and belonging are transgressed and remade on a nightly basis.” (Thomas Thurnell-Read, Loughborough University, UK)“Nicholls explores how young women negotiate the complexities and contradictions of contemporary femininity and still manage to have a good time. The book makes an important contribution to understanding the complex terrain of ‘girliness’ for young women managing tensions around heterosexual femininity, friendship and leisure in the UK.  It is also a valuable addition to research about gender and intoxication, focusing on the important collective cultural practice of the ‘girls’ night out’.” (Christine Griffin, University of Bath, UK) Product Description This book explores the ways in which young women negotiate gendered and classed identities in nightlife venues. With a particular focus on the under-researched phenomenon of the ‘girls’ night out’, this text explores tensions around what it means to be ‘girly’ in bars, pubs and clubs, examining throughout the ways in which being a ‘girly girl’ is simultaneously desired and derided in a postfeminist context. Drawing on research conducted in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, this original and comprehensive book explores the value and meaning of the ‘girls’ night out’ for young women, and its instrumental role in the negotiation of friendships and femininities. Nicholls covers a range of themes, including alcohol consumption, dress, and risk management, providing engaging and timely insights into women’s leisure as a site for the negotiation of gendered identities. Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences with an interest in gender, class and the Night-Time Economy. From the Back Cover This book explores the ways in which young women negotiate gendered and classed identities in nightlife venues. With a particular focus on the under-researched phenomenon of the ‘girls’ night out’, this text explores tensions around what it means to be ‘girly’ in bars, pubs and clubs, examining throughout the ways in which being a ‘girly girl’ is simultaneously desired and derided in a postfeminist context. Drawing on research conducted in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, this original and comprehensive book explores the value and meaning of the ‘girls’ night out’ for young women, and its instrumental role in the negotiation of friendships and femininities. Nicholls covers a range of themes, including alcohol consumption, dress, and risk management, providing engaging and timely insights into women’s leisure as a site for the negotiation of gendered identities.Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences with an interest in gender, class and the Night-Time Economy. About the Author Emily Nicholls is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth, UK.