gender differences in achievement - internal factors - pupil's sexual and gender identities

Question 1

hegemonic masculinity

Answer 1

connell

heterosexual masculine identity

subordination of female/gay identities

Question 2

double standards

Answer 2

lees - identifies a double standard of sexual morality in which boys boast about their own sexual exploits, but call a girl a slag if she doesn’t have a stable boyfriend or dresses in a certain way

sexual conquest is approved of and given status by males and ignored by male teachers , but promiscuity among girls attract negative labels

feminists see these double standards as an example of patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women

double standards can be seen as a form of social control

Question 3

verbal abuse

Answer 3

connell - a rich vocabulary of abuse is one of the ways in which dominant gender and sexual identities are reinforced

lees - boys called girls slags if they appeared to be sexually available, but drags if they didn’t

paechter - name calling helps to shape gender identities and maintain male power. the use of labels such as ‘gay’ and ‘lezzie’ are ways in which pupils police each others sexual identities

parker - boys labelled as gay for being friendly with girls or female teachers, bear no relation to sexual behaviour

Question 4

the male gaze

Answer 4

mac an ghaill - the way male pupils and teachers look at girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects

male gaze as a form surveillance through which dominant masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued

one of the ways boys prove their masculinity to their friends - if not, they run the risk of being labelled as gay

Question 5

male peer groups

Answer 5

also use verbal abuse to reinforce masculinity

epstein and willis - boys in anti school subcultures accuse boys who want to do well at school as gay

mac an ghaill - parnell school, peer groups reproduce a range of different class based, masculine gender identities

working class macho lads were dismissive of other working class boys who worked hard and aspired to middle class careers, and referred to them as dickhead achievers

middle class ‘real englishmen’ projected and image of effortless achievement without trying, but actually worked hard in quiet

redman - the dominant definition of masculine identity changes from that of the macho lads in secondary school to that of the real englishmen in sixth form

Question 6

female peer groups

ringrose

Answer 6

south wales school

working class girls,

being popular was a crucial part to identity

as the girls made a transition from a girls’ friendship group to a heterosexual dating culture, they faced a tension between:

• an idealised feminised identity of showing loyalty to the female peer group, being non competitive and getting along with everybody in the friendship culture
• a sexualised identity that involved competing for boys in the dating culture

Question 7

female peer groups

currie

Answer 7

while relationships with boys can confer symbolic capital, this is a high risk game - girls forced to perform a balancing act between two identities:

• girls who are too competitive and/or think they are better than their peers risk ‘slut’ shaming - being labelled as ‘sluts’ and excluded from the friendship culture
• girls who don’t compete for boyfriends may face ‘frigid shaming’ by the other girls

Question 8

female peer groups

boffin identity

Answer 8

girls who want to be successful educationally may feel the need to conform to the school’s notion of the ideal feminine identity

raey - this involved girls having to perform an asexual identity, presenting themselves as lacking any interest in boyfriends or popular fashion

Question 9

teachers and discipline

Answer 9

haywood and mac an ghaill - male teachers told boys off for behaving like girls and teased them when they gained lower marks in tests than girls. teachers tended to ignore boys’ verbal abuse of girls and even blamed girls for attracting it

askew and ross - male teachers’ behaviour can subtly reinforce messages about gender. for example, male teachers often have a protective attitude towards female colleagues, coming into their classroom to ‘rescue’ them by threatening pupil who are being disruptive. this reinforces the idea that women can’t cope alone