GOLDEN GIRL: A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

Abstract

This collection is composed of eight original short stories exploring themes related to girlhood, such as mental health, sexuality, trauma, and the idea of belonging. Most notably it reflects the shared experiences and relationships – whether romantic, platonic, or familial – that affect how young women navigate some of the most defining years of their lives. While the following characters and events described are fictional, they are somewhat influenced by my personal journey through adolescence, whether that means on a situational or emotional level. It is my own experiences as a queer Thai American woman that has provided me a unique lens in which to engage the topic of girlhood, specifically, one that reognizes the significance of intersectionality and seeks to implement it within a feminist approach. This collection therefore has political and societal implications that are intended to expand upon a reader’s understanding of what it means to grow up as a young girl across different time periods, cultural backgrounds, etc. It includes over 80 pages of new fiction that has been written and revised in the last year in addition to two previous stories that were also revised for this thesis project.