News and views from the Cooties, eeuuwwww
What do the following topics have in common?
Drawing by Mike Trainor, 2007
AvatarGive up? They are all entries in the two-volume set we just got called Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia, edited by Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh (305.235203G443). It's too much of a readin' book to put in reference, with long introductory chapters on topics like "Barbie Culture," "How to Study Girl Culture," and "What Does It Mean to Be a Girl in the Twenty-First Century?" My only criticism is that there aren't very many visuals. This illustration of a cootie catcher ("a folded-paper game dating from the 1600s, is still enjoyed by many young American girls in a variety of contexts, including Ouija board-type fortune telling") did bring back some memories, I must say.
Cootie catcher
Fan fiction
Hijab
Horseback riding
Innocence
JAP (Jewish American Princess)
Ken (the doll)
Lara Croft
Powerpuff Girls
Recycled clothing
Series fiction
The Supremes
Drawing by Mike Trainor, 2007
posted by franceylibrarian at 2:37 PM
3 Comments:
I don't remember that ever being called a 'cootie-catcher' in NYC in the 1950's. We just called it a fortune-teller.
Yeah, I remember only using these for fortune-telling. The book says: "A cootie catcher basic form is then made [to get rid of a friend's cooties], and on one set of four inner surfaces, cooties are drawn (typically looking like small insects). The other set of four inner surfaces are left blank (i.e., clean). To remove cooties, a girl will touch the "afflicted" girl with the pincers of the catcher. The inner surfaces of the cootie catcher with the cooties drawn on will be shown to the "afflicted girl," then the clean inner surfaces will be revealed to her. This means that the cooties have effectively been removed for the moment. In a way, cootie catchers can reinforce female solidarity on the playground." Cool, huh?
I feel like I've heard of them being used in that way... it's been a while, though. Mostly, I write stupid fortunes in mine. ^^
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