pupil’s sexual and gender identities

Question 1

What is hegemonic masculinity?

Answer 1

the dominance of heterosexual masculinity identity and the subordination of female and gay identities

Question 2

Redman and Mac an Ghail

Answer 2

-in lower school, masculine identity - ‘macho lad’ (someone who doesn’t work hard- w/c)
-in sixth form, masculine identity - ‘real Englishman’ (an image of effortless achievement when in reality some of them are working really hard)
-reflects a shift to the m/c composition and atmosphere of the sixth form

Question 3

Ringrose

Answer 3

as girls transition from a girls friendship culture to a heterosexual dating culture, they face a conflict between showing:
-an idealised feminine identity (wanting to show loyalty to friends, getting along with everyone)
-a sexualised identity (competing for boys)
-girls can use boys as a means to gain symbolic capital by appearing glamorous or sexy

Question 4

Currie

Answer 4

if girls partake in dating they risk ‘slut shaming’ but if they don’t, they experience ‘frigid shaming’

Question 5

Lees

Answer 5

boys called girls ‘slags’ if they appeared to be sexually available and drags if they did not

Question 6

Osler

Answer 6

-the focus on underachieving boys has led to the neglect of girls
-girls often disassociate from school quietly while boys do this publicly, displaying ‘laddish masculinity’ that attracts teachers and policymakers’ attention
e.g. mentoring schemes to reduce school exclusion ignores the problem of exclusion among girls which are rapidly increasing
-includes self-exclusion (truancy) and internal exclusion (removal from class)

Question 7

McVeigh

Answer 7

-the gender achievement gap is not as bad as the social class achievement gap (this is 3x wider)
-within a social class, gap between girls and boys only about 12% points but within a gender, gap between w/c and m/c is 44% points
-class is a more significant problem

Question 8

Paechter

Answer 8

sees name-calling as helping to maintain male power
-use of negative labels such as ‘gay’, ‘queer’ and ‘lezzie’ are ways in which pupils police each other’s sexual identities

Question 9

Mac an Ghail

Answer 9

sees the male gaze as a form of surveillance to devalue femininity and a way for boys to prove their masculinity to their friends
-often done by telling stories of sexual conquests
-failure to display heterosexuality-> risk of being called ‘gay’

Question 10

Askew and Ross

Answer 10

show how male teachers’ comments can subtly reinforce messages about gender
e.g. they have a protective attitude towards female colleagues, coming into their class to ‘rescue; them by threatening disruptive pupils which reinforces the idea that women cannot work alone

Question 11

What are four examples of hegemonic masculinity?

Answer 11

double standards
verbal abuse
the male gaze
teachers and discipline

Question 12

What are double standards?

Answer 12

applying one set of moral standards to one group but a different set to another group

Question 13

What is the male gaze?

Answer 13

the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements about their appearance