I grew up in the sixties and seventies wondering where I fitted into this society as female and as "ethnic". Sure, I did girls talk with friends about families, friendships, school, harassment, sexuality, etc. But we all wished there was a book of girls talk which got real, a book which explored the tough issues we faced, survived, and movedon from with our strengths and our styles, and yeah, sometimes hard-earned wisdom! A book which showed real girls, girls from a variety of cultures and lifestyles and sexualities, with so many dreams and joys and achievements.

 So I set about collecting all sorts of girls talk from around Australia for all sorts of girls from around Australia.

I asked lots of girls, and lots of people living with and working with girls, what girls want to know and what girls want to say. The same answer kept coming back: a book that gets real: - that

• doesn't treat girls as if they were all living in this sheltered world where the worst thing that could happen to you was breaking a nail;
• doesn't treat them like babies who did not menstruate or do sex;
• doesn't avoid the hard stuff like making decisions about doing drugs, and dealing with families that weren't always sane, sweet and loving;
• doesn't avoid real life issues like what happens when your friends think your parents are freaks just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.

 A book that says its okay that girls have different shapes, different lives, different ideas, and that we all have to deal with tough stuff. A book that shows real girls talking about the way it is for them, the way they want it to be, the way it was, the way they're heading.

 

Girls' Talk is a unique collection of over 150 contributions by young women from across Australia.

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