The images of Remembering Twelve come from an intense examination of my middle school experiences and what made it so difficult. Showing these photographs serve to compare my own experiences and raise questions about female middle school identity. I have depicted my sisters, cousins and other girls I interact with in moments of solitude and in group situations. My observations, personal reflections and research have led this body of work to its current focus.
The individual, identity and the group are the three key issues for the girls themselves in the middle school years. Having an identity is vital for girls, but the group that they associate themselves with, or the group that they are striving to assimilate with defines this identity. In most cases, there is no real individual identity at this stage, as fitting in with a group is the singular most important concern. An obsession with fitting in with the right group, wearing the right clothes, having the right body, the right attitude and being seen with the right boys now surpasses all other concerns. The popular group who take their cues from popular culture establishes the list of right things to do and wear.
Relationships at this time serve two purposes. One is a venue to try out different personalities and ways of interacting. The second is to have relationships reflect the positive traits that a girl wants to project about herself. A group of friends serve to validate the experiments that a girl is taking on with her identity, to support her in these endeavors with positive or negative feedback. If a friend or group ceases to make a girl look good then there can be no relationship. An example of this would be the close overweight friend of sixth grade who gets dumped in seventh because she is no longer cool to be seen around compared to her new friends who reflect how the girl wants to be seen.
From this hyper attention to appearance in and outside of the group comes an even stronger attentio
