Findings from a major new study of teenage girlhood in the 1960s and 1970s have been turned into an exhibition at the University’s National Graphene Institute and a series of videos have been produced.

Professor Penny Tinkler led the Girlhood and Later Life project to explore what life was really like for teenage girls growing up in Britain between 1954 and 1976. The project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, interviewed women now in their seventies and eighties about their teenage experiences and how they had shaped their lives in the decades that followed.

This was a time of real economic, social and cultural change and teenage girls were at the forefront of a lot of these changes. They often stayed at school longer, and lots more women went into paid employment. Some women were beginning to be able to control if and when they had children, and teenagers with money to spend could follow the latest fashions or buy pop music records or save up to travel.

Data from the project has inspired an exhibition, Teenage Kicks, with artwork by Candice Purwin. It  tells the story of eight very different women. One of the stories, Andrea’s story, has been turned into an exhibition at the pavement gallery at the National Graphene Institute as part of The University of Manchester bicentenary, and the exhibition continues over the summer. The gallery is viewed from the pavement outside, so no need to check opening times.

•  You can watch all the stories as videos, as well as reading them online or downloading the free Teenage Kicks zine.