Shirley Temple’s Transition From Childhood to Adolescence
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Women and Gender Studies
Abstract
This presentation will explore Shirley Temple’s significance to girls through her transition from childhood to adolescence. The 1930s were a time of turmoil and struggle for most Americans due to the Great Depression. A very young Shirley Temple quickly rose to fame by singing and dancing on screen. Her performances and persona represented what people were desperate for: joy, innocence, and love. Many scholars who write about Shirley Temple concentrate on her performances as a child, arguing that her productions emphasized purity and innocence. Scholars have focused on Temple’s childhood persona, and many have used her as a way to understand white male sexuality and gender roles in relation to her performances. While there has been a tremendous amount of scholarship on her rise to stardom, her fall from popularity as a teenager and her influence on white teenage girls remains understudied. Her transition from child star to teenage actor highlights how childhood and adolescence were valued by Hollywood and American audiences. Through an analysis of Temple’s most popular and lesser-known films, her autobiography, magazines, and newspaper accounts, this presentation argues that Temple’s relationship to girlhood and her girl audience is important to explore. The ownership that American audiences, especially men, felt over Temple during the Great Depression was disrupted by her aging. Although the general public lost interest in her films, teenage girls were still able to connect with her and her characters. By 1940 Temple no longer was the epitome of innocent childhood, but the roles that she chose as a teenager and her public persona in magazines helped define white female adolescence. Focusing on her characters, her onscreen relationships with men in her childhood and teenage years, and the public’s reception of her films–especially girl audiences–this presentation illuminates the relationship between age, performance, and gender in early twentieth century American film.
Shirley Temple’s Transition From Childhood to Adolescence
This presentation will explore Shirley Temple’s significance to girls through her transition from childhood to adolescence. The 1930s were a time of turmoil and struggle for most Americans due to the Great Depression. A very young Shirley Temple quickly rose to fame by singing and dancing on screen. Her performances and persona represented what people were desperate for: joy, innocence, and love. Many scholars who write about Shirley Temple concentrate on her performances as a child, arguing that her productions emphasized purity and innocence. Scholars have focused on Temple’s childhood persona, and many have used her as a way to understand white male sexuality and gender roles in relation to her performances. While there has been a tremendous amount of scholarship on her rise to stardom, her fall from popularity as a teenager and her influence on white teenage girls remains understudied. Her transition from child star to teenage actor highlights how childhood and adolescence were valued by Hollywood and American audiences. Through an analysis of Temple’s most popular and lesser-known films, her autobiography, magazines, and newspaper accounts, this presentation argues that Temple’s relationship to girlhood and her girl audience is important to explore. The ownership that American audiences, especially men, felt over Temple during the Great Depression was disrupted by her aging. Although the general public lost interest in her films, teenage girls were still able to connect with her and her characters. By 1940 Temple no longer was the epitome of innocent childhood, but the roles that she chose as a teenager and her public persona in magazines helped define white female adolescence. Focusing on her characters, her onscreen relationships with men in her childhood and teenage years, and the public’s reception of her films–especially girl audiences–this presentation illuminates the relationship between age, performance, and gender in early twentieth century American film.
