Shojo vs. Shoujo

I’m sure a lot of you have noticed that shoujo is also sometimes spelled as shojo. In Hiragana it is written:　しょうじょ

しょ=sho

う=u (which makes a long “oh” sound when next to a character that ends with “o”)

じょ=jo

When translating to Enlgish, the extra “O” sound is sometimes lost. 

We can also write shoujo this way: shōjo

The dash above the “o” extends the “oh” sound.

So are we wrong when we write/say “shojo”? Some people may feel differently on this, but I would say no. But if you’re speaking in Japanese, then yes, you are saying it wrong.

In English context, it’s fine. Shojo Beat magazine ran their magazine without extending the “oh” or adding the dash. 

In English, when we have a double o, it makes an ü sound. 

Such as loose and goose.

Thus, we don’t write “shoojo”.