Thread by @thejournalista

Do y'all of a certain age remember how in the Nancy Drew books they described her friend George (a girl) as being "pleasingly plump"?

Thinking about it now, most of us were reading those books in elementary school, so who was she "pleasingly plump" for?

And why that description in a book targeted for girls under 12?

I had all the damn Nancy Drew books. I loved them.

I'm being told by @Kamifaine that the chubby friend was Bess, not George. George was the tomboy, which makes sense with the name.

Anyway, we were being indoctrinated by these books and didn't even know it.

Great job, "Carolyn Keene."

Also, why was Carson Drew letting his daughter get all up in grown folks business?

You know, when you think about it, the Nancy Drew series of books is a case study in extreme white privilege. In this essay I will....

Remember Nancy was a "titian blonde."

That's so specific.

I don't think we got these kinds of messages in our Judy Blume books, but correct me if I am wrong.

There was a book I read that I actually picked up from my youngest aunt (she's six years older than me). It was by Francine Pascal and it's called Hanging Out With Cici (Cece? sp?). Any of y'all read that one.

That book has stuck in my mind cause I loved it.

I read it twice in one weekend at my grandmother's house. My aunt had checked it out from her school library. She was a senior in high school. I was in sixth grade.