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If a young woman is daring and sexually active, her behavior is not necessarily one of innate desire, but a demonstration of the behavior of those whom she most admires. Female Adolescent Friendship and the Construct of Identity presents Adolescent Female Identity theory (AFI) derived from Lacan´s theory of ways in which identity is constructed through the act of imitating external images. Female adolescents form their primary identities through mirroring the behaviors and internalizing the value systems of their closest friends. Adulation allows a merged identity to form: girls who merge reach a state in which the other and the self are perceived as one. The information presented within applies theoretical data to interpretations of narratives of personal experience, illustrating how novels Glorie in a Small Town and Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? depict friendship and identity. Ultimately, AFI suggests that the romantic friendships of our youth work as a blueprint. For women, our ideals and understanding of intimacy may very well stem from our adolescent friendships, which continue to surface and play out well into our adult lives.

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Kristin S. vanNamen, PhD: Studied Humanities, Aesthetics at the University of Texas at Dallas and Women´s Studies at the University of Kansas. In addition to her interdisciplinary research, Dr. vanNamen is a poet and novelist, recipient of the 2008 Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral award in prose, and freelance editor and writer´s coach in Dallas, Texas.

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