Topic 4 - Pupils' sexual and gender identities

Ways in which pupils' experiences in school help construct + reinforce gender + sexual identities.

Experiences may all contribute to reinforcing what Connell (1995) calls 'hegemonic masculinity' - dominacne of hetersexual masculine identity + subordination of female + gay identities.

Exists when we apply 1 set of moral standards to 1 group, but diff to another. Lees (1993) identifies double standard of sexual morality - boys boast about sexual exploits, girls labelled as '****' if doesn't have steady boyfriend or dresses + speaks in certain way. Sexual conquest approved of + given status by male peers, ignored by male teachers, but 'promiscuity' among girls attracts neg labels.

Fems see double standards as eg of patriatchal ideology - justifies male power, devalues women. Double standards seen as form of social control - reinforces gender inequality - keeping females subordinate to males.

Eg boys use name-calling to put girls down. Lees (1986) - boys called girls 'slags' if appeared sexually available, 'drags' if didn't.

Paechter sees name-calling as helping shape GI + maintain male power. Use of neg labels q 'queer' - pupils police sexual identities.

Parker (1996) - boys labelled gay for being friendly w/ girls. Lees + Paechter note labels often no relation to pupils' actual sexual behaviour. Function to reinforce gender norms + identities.

Visual aspect - control identities. Mac an Ghaill - 'male gaze' - way male pupils + teachers look girls up + down, see them as sexual objects, make judgements about appearance. 

Mac an Ghaill sees as form of surveillance - dominant heterosexual masc reingorced, fem devalued. One of ways boys prove masc to friends - combine w/ constant telling of stories about sexual conquests. If boys don't display heterosexuality this way, run risk of being labelled gay.

Use verbal abuse to reinforce definitions of masc. Eg studies by Epstein + Willis - boys in anti-school subcultures accuse boys who want to do well as gay.

Mac an Ghaill (1994) study of Parnell School - examines how peer groups reproduce range of diff class-based masc gender identities - eg w/c 'macho lads' dismissive of other w/c boys who worked hard, referred to them as '******** achievers'. M/c 'real Englishmen' image of 'effortless achievement' - succeeded w/o trying (some cases, actually working hard 'on the quiet'.

Redman + Mac an Ghaill (1997) found dom definition of masc identity changes from 'macho lads' in lower school to 'real Englishmen' in 6th form. Represents shift away from w/c def of toughness to m/c def of intellectual ability. Reflects more m/c composition of 6th form.

Archer shows w/c girsl gain symbolic capital from peers - hyper-heterosexual fem identity. Female peers police identity, girls risk being unpopular + being called 'tramp' if don't conform. Ringrose's (2013) study, 13-14 y/o w/c girls' peer groups South Wales school - being popular crucial to identity. As made transition from girls' friendship culture to heterosexual dating culture, faced tension b/ween:
  - idealised fem identity - showing loyalty to fem peer group, non-compeititve, getting along w/ everyone in friendship culture
 - sexualised identity - involved competing for boys in dating culture.

Currie et al (2007) - relationships w/ boys confer w/ symbolic capital - high risk. Balancing act b/ween girls who are too competitive -> '**** shaming'  + girls who don't compete -> 'frigid shaming'.

Boffin identity - girls who want to be successful in ed feel ned to conform to school's idea of ideal fem pupil identity. Involved asexual identity. Risk of 'boffin' identity, excluded by other girls. Francis (2010) - m/c female boffins may respond by defining w/c girls as 'chavs'.

Research shows teachers play part in reinforcing dom defs of fender identity. Haywood + Mac an Ghaill (1996) - male teachers told boys off for 'behaving like girls', teased them when lower marks in tests than girls. Tended to ignore boys' verbal abuse of girls, blamed girls for attracting it.

Askew + Ross (1988) - male teachers' behaviour can reinforce messages about gender eg male teachers protective attitude of female colleagues - come to classes to 'rescue' them by threatening pupils who are being disruptive. Reinforces idea women can't cope alone.