Popular girls aren't into reading: Reading as a site for working-class girls' gender and class identity work

Feminist scholarship recognises reading as a site for gender and class identity work (Davies, 1989; Walkerdine, 1991), as texts and associated literate practices reflect how one sees oneself and is seen by others (Moje & Luke, 2009; Vares & Jackson, 2015). Working-class girls’ struggles as they engage in school curriculum subjects such as reading and negotiate the formation of gender identities at school are complex, influenced by discourses of femininity often influenced by class (Francis, Skelton, & Read, 2010; Jackson & Tinkler, 2007; McRobbie, 2013; Paechter & Clark, 2007; Raby, & Pomerantiz, 2015; Walkerdine, Lucey, & Melody, 1999)). Adding to the complexity, girls play a role in constructing their reading identities influenced by their desire to be, and indeed the social necessity of being seen as normal within their particular context (Neilson & Davies, 2016).