Pupils sexual and gender identities

Different ways pupils experiences in school help construct and reinforce gender and sexual identities - Connell - these experiences contribute to reinforce hegemonic masculinty which is the dominance of hetrosexual masculine identity and subordination of female/gay identities 

Double standard - when we apply one set of morals to group and different for another 

Lees - double standard of sexual morality boys boast about sexual relations but a girl is called a **** if she doesnt have steady boyfriend or dresses/speaks in certain way 

Sexual conuest approved and given status by male peers and ignored by male teachers but promiscuity for girls negative 

Feminists - double standards example of patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women - double standards also seen as form of social control to reinforce gender inequality by keeping females subordinate 

Connell - rich vocabulary of abuse one way dominant gender and sexual identities reinforces e.g. boys use name calling to put girls down if behave/dress in certain way - Lees- boys call girls slags if sexually available but drags if not 

Peachter - name calling helps shape gender identitiy and male power - use of labels such as gay, lezzies etc ways pupils police sexual identities 

Parker - boys labelled gay for being friends with girls 

These labels have nothing to do with actual sexual behaviour but function simply to reinforce gender norms and identities 

there is visual aspect to way pupils control each others identities 

Mac and Ghaill - male gaze is the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down seeing them as sexual objects and judging appearence

They see male gaze as form of surveillance through which dominant masculinity is reinforced and femininty devalued - one way boys prove masculinity to friends and often combined with telling and retelling of stories about sexual conquests - boys who dont display hetrosexuality in this way risk being labelled gay 

Male peer groups use verbal abuse to reinforce definitions of masculinity - boys in anti school subcultures accuse boys who want to do well of being gay or effeminate 

Mac & Ghaill - Parnell schools study examines how peer groups reproduce class based masculine gender identities e..g working class macho lads dismissive of working class boys that worked hard referring to them as the '******** achievers'  

Middle class 'real Englishmen' projected image of effortless achievement of succeeding without trying 

Redman and Mac and Ghaill - dominant definition of masculine identity changes from that of macho lads in lower school to 'real Englishmen' in sixth form. This represents shift from working class definition of toughness to middle class one of ability 

Archer shows how working class girls gain symbolic capital from female peers by performing hyper hetrosexual feminine identity this involves constructing glamourous nike appearence with certain brands/styles. Female peers police identity and girls risk being called tramps if fail to conform. Ringrose - small scale 13-14 year olds working class girls peer grous in South Wales school found being popular crucial to girls identity as girls moved from friendship culture to hetrosexual dating culture they faced tension between: 

• Idealised feminie identity - showing loyalty to female peer group, being non competitive and getting along with all in friendship culture 
• Sexualised identity - involves competing for boys in dating culure 

Currie - relatioonships risky way to gain symbolic capital as girls have to balance the 2 identities. Girls who dont compete called frigid by other girls. Boffin identity - girls who want educational success feel need to conform to school ideal female - Reay - this involved girls performing asexual identity with no interest in boys or fashion - risk given identity boffin and excluded by peers - Francis - middle class boffins respond by defining working class gils as 'chavs' 

Research shows teachers play part in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identity. 

Haywood and Mac and Ghaill - male teachers tell boys off for acting like girls and teased them when they did worse than girls. Teachers tend to ignore boys vebal abuse to girls or blame girls for attracting it 

Askew and Ross - male teachers behaviour subtly reinforce gender messages e.g. male teachers protective attitude to female colleagues coming into classrooms to 'rescue' them threatening disruptive pupils - this reinforces idea women cant cope alone