Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the friendship group history of the It Girls, whose splintering as a group and eventual reunification centred on being or not being ghetto. This history is examined as important in its own right as well as a manifestations of broader histories that give meaning to growing up in London.

Paper long abstract:

In Year 11, after five years as a group, pupils (aged 15 - 16 years old), often looked back on their shared history together. These stories focused on the year group, as well as histories of different friendship groups and specific friendships. This paper focuses on one of these friendship group histories; the It Girls, the highest status girl group in the year. As the girls told it, their splintering as a group centred on the question of whether ghetto was an acceptable way to be or not. Ghetto was described by pupils as one of the most visible ways to 'act black' but made clear there were other ways to 'act black' and being black was not a prerequisite for acting 'ghetto'. The It Girls' splintering, and eventual reunification, highlights their struggles over acceptable action, what should be shared with friends and what it means to be a good girl and in their recounting enabled them to articulate 'who they are now' in contrast to 'who they were then'. As I will explore in this paper, these friendship group histories are important in their own right, as well as a manifestations of broader histories that give meaning to growing up as a particular kind of person in contemporary London and Britain.