Stephanie’s Three Minute Thesis
Graphic Novels and Girls with Butterflies
Teenage girls have experienced drastic increases in anxiety since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the stigma surrounding mental health is another hurdle for teens struggling with mental health conditions like anxiety. One way to potentially help reduce stigma and improve empathy levels could include reading graphic novels that portray teenage girls living with anxiety. Better literary representation is long overdue and can make all the difference to well-being and literacy development. My goal is to analyze the potential of young adult graphic novels to contribute to social-emotional learning and mental health literacy for the benefit of teenage girls experiencing anxiety.
Stephanie Mahar (she/her/siya), MLIS, is a Filipina American first-generation Ph.D. Candidate in Language, Literacy, and Technology (LLT) at Washington State University–Pullman’s College of Education, and the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect of the Washington Library Association’s Public Library Division. Her research focuses on graphic novels for youth mental health and social-emotional learning. She has worked for Washington State University Libraries’ Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC), the University of Washington Libraries’ Labor Archives of Washington, and Seattle Public Schools’ Roosevelt High School Library. Last year, Stephanie organized and presented a panel discussion for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Symposium titled Beyond “American Born Chinese”: Advancing Change through Asian Representation in Graphic Novels. She is also on YALSA’s Book Awards & Selection Lists Oversight Committee as the liaison to Great Graphic Novels for Teens.