Get Out of My Room!: A History of Teen Bedrooms in America

Everybody has a teen bedroom story. The teen bedroom has universally been regarded as a safe haven for adolescents from all classes and backgrounds, and a near-sacred space that s basically off-limits to everyone but its teenage occupants (and their invited guests). But it s a relatively recent Western phenomenon that assumed a prominent role in socializing teens and shaping their identities during the years following World War II. As part of the identity-shaping process, the teen bedroom became a safe space for teens to express their growing consumer power, parallel to the emergence of youth subcultures after the War. Reid tracks the history of bedrooms for children back to the Civil War period, though the bulk of his research stretches from the late 1950s through the beginning of the 21st century. The rock posters, stuffed animals, and record players that found their way into teen bedroom during this period represent ways in which tends became major contributors to the postwar consumer economy. Reid by no means neglects popular culture, in the meantime, detailing the ways in which the teen bedroom appeared in song, film, television, and literature. It was often portrayed as a space of personal development and self-expression, but also as a site profound loneliness and romantic longing. To quote the Beach Boys 1963 hit song In My Room, the postwar teen bedroom featured just as much sighing and crying as it did scheming and dreaming. "