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PUPILS SEXUAL & GENDER IDENTITIES - Coggle Diagram
PUPILS SEXUAL & GENDER IDENTITIES
DOUBLE STANDARDS
a double standard exists when we apply one set of moral standards to one group but a different set to another
LEES identifies a double standard of sexual morality in which boys boast about their sexual exploits but call girls slags if she doesnt have a steady boyfriend or dresses/speaks in a certain way
sexual conquest is approved of and given status by male peers and ignored by male teachers
but promiscuity among girls attracts 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 from of social control that reinforces gender inequality by keeping females subordinate to males
VERBAL ABUSE
Boys use name calling to put girls down if they behave or dress in a certain way
LEES found that boys called girls slags if they appeared to be sexually available
PEACHTER sees name calling as helping to shape gender identity and maintain male power
the use of labels such as 'gay', 'queer' are ways In which pupils police each others sexual identities
e.g PARKER found that boys were labelled gay simply for being friendly with girls or female teachers
both lees and peachier note these labels often bear no relation to pupils actual sexual behaviour
their function is simply to reinforce gender norms and identities
THE MALE GAZE
There is also a visual aspect to the way pupils control each others identities
GHAILL refer to this as the 'male gaze' - the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements about their appearance
GHAILL sees the male gaze as a form of surveillance through which dominant sheterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued
it is one way boys prove their masculinity to their friends and is often combined with constant telling of stories aout sexual conquests
boys who dont display their heterosexuality risk being l;abelled gay
MALE PEER GROUPS
male peer groups use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity
e.g as studies by EPSTEIN & WILLIS show, boys in anti-school subcultures often accuse boys of wanting to do well, of being gay
GHAILLs study of Parnell school examines how peer groups reproduce a range of different class-based masculine gender identities
e.g the working class 'macho lads' were dismissive of other working class boys who worked hard snd aspired to missile class careers, referring to them as the 'dickhead achievers'
by contrast, middle class 'real Englishmen' projected an image of effortless achievemnt- succeeding without trying
REDMAN & GHAILL found that the dominant definition of masculine identity changes from that of the macho lads in the lower school, to that fo the real Englishmen in sixth form
this represents a shift away from a working-class definition based on toughness, to a middle-class one based on intellectual ability
FEMALE PEER GROUPS: POLICING IDENTITY
ARCHER shows that working-class girls gained symbolic capital (status & popularity) from their female peers by performing a hyper-heterosexual identity
this involved constructing a glamorous/sexy eke appearance using particular brands and styles
ARCHER found that female peers policed this identity and girls risked making themselves unpopular and being called a 'tramp' if they failed to conform
RINGROSE found that being popular was crucial to the girls identity in her study of 13-14 year old pupils
As the girls made a transition from a girls friendship to a heterosexual dating culture, they faced a tension between:
AN IDEALISED FEMININE IDENTITY: showing loyalty to female peer group, being non-competitive
A SEXUALISED IDENTITY: involved competing for boys on the dating culture
CURRIE ET AL argues that whilst relationships with boys can confer symbolic capitalism, its a high risk game as they are forced to balance between the 2 identities
girls who are too competitive risk being labelled as sluts and are excluded from the friendship culture
on the other hand girls who dont compete may face fridgid shaming
shaming is thus a social control device by which schoolgirls police, regulate and discipline each others identities
A BOFFIN IDENTITY: girls who want to be successful educationally may feel they need to conform to the schools note of the ideal feminine pupil identity
REAY found that this involves girls having to perform an asexual identity
as a result, they risk being given the identity of 'boffin', and become excluded by others
TEACHERS & DISCIPLINE
Research shows how teachers also play a part in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identity
HAYWOOD & GHAILL found that 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 male verbal abuse towards girls, even blaming girls for attracting it
ASKEW & ROSS show how male teachers behaviour can subtly reinforce messages about geder
e.g male teachers often have a protective attitude towards female colleagues, coming to their class to 'rescue them' from disruptive pupils
however this reinforces the idea that women cannot cope