It is a truth universally acknowledged that boys will be boys and girls have to grow up . . . Over the past decade, girlhood has repainted the cultural landscape pink. From Taylor Swift's Eras tour to Barbiemania, this nostalgia for girlhood has become a billion-dollar business, seen in the music we listen to, the clothes we wear and the 2000s movies (and their long-awaited sequels) we watch on repeat. But at a time when women's rights are being rewritten, this resurgence in girlhood is complicated. Women are caught between a genuine desire to relive the wild freedom, joy and safety found in girlhood, while facing an ever-growing pressure to hold onto their youth. The world demands women continue to look like girls, yet they are rarely given the space to actually be girls. In I'm Just a Girl, journalist Jess Bacon introduces readers to the 'second girlhood', the extended adolescence that allows us to recover the part of ourselves we left behind. Reconnecting with our inner girl is an empowering act of rebellion. It offers a return to creativity and play that can ultimately improve our relationships, our mental wellbeing and establish a renewed sense of self. It is a reclaiming of what was once taken from us. For far too long we have been presented with a false choice between womanhood and girlhood - this book is a celebration of a new way of being where we can fully embrace both.
