4.3 Gender & Subject choice and Pupils' sexual & Gender identities

• How does gender role socialisation affect subject choice?

  -Norman- from an early age there are differences in how boys & girls are encouraged to dress, play & do as hobbies etc-Murphy & Elwood- boys read hobby books & non fiction but girl read fiction leads to differnet subject choices (STEM vs english)
• How do gendered subject images affect subject choice?

  -Kelly- science is seen as a boys subject because- Science teachers more likely menTeacher & textbook examples draw on boys' interestsIn lessons, boys dominate apparatus & act as if its theirs-Colley- single sex schools have less gender differences
• How does gender identity & peer pressure affect subject choice?

  -Boys choose not to take music & dance as its outside their domain & attracts ridicule from peers-Praechter- pupils see sport as male gender domain (sporty girls subject to homophobic name calling)-Peer pressure from opposite sex- lack of this may explain why less gender differences in subject choice in single sex schools
• How do gendered career opportunities affect subject choice?

  -Employment still highly gendered -Over half of women's employment is clerical/secretarial/cleaning-Boys affected as nursery nurses 'should be' women & won't choose childcare-Explains larger gender differences in vocational education
• Hegemonic masculinity


  Heterosexual stereotyped masculine identity gives status whereas female and homosexual identities seen as insubordinate
• How many methods are there of maintenance of hegemonic masculinity?

  6
• How do double standards of sexuality affect achievement?

  -Lees:-Boys praised for sexual exploits & gives them status among peers & ignored by male teachers-Girls labelled 'slags' by peers & promiscuous by teachers
• How does verbal abuse affect achievement?

  -Dominant sexual & gender identities reinforced through abusive vocabulary e.g. name calling-Parker- boys labelled gay just for bring friendly to girls/female teachers regardless of actual sexuality-Reinforces idea of non-heterosexual identities being inferior
• How do male peer groups affect achievement?

  -Verbal abuse used to reinforce dominance of masculinity-Willis' lads- boys in anti-school subcultures accuse boys in pro-school subculture of being gay
• How does discipline affect achievement?

  -Mac an Ghaill- male teachers tell boys off for 'behaving like girls' & teased when out performed by girls-Teachers ignore boys' verbal abuse of girls
• How does the male gaze affect achievement?

  -Mac an Ghaill:-Male teachers & pupils 'look girls up & down' & judge based on appearance-Way of proving masculinity to friends especially when combined with storytelling of sexual exploits
• How does the influence of female peer groups affect achievement?

  -Ringrose:-Study of 13-14 year old WC girls in a South Wales school-As they transitioned from a girls' friendship culture into a heterosexual dating culture & faced tension between an idealised feminine identity for non-competitiveness or a sexualised identity-Girls has to adopt Boffin' identity- conforming to schools ideal feminine identity & having to perform an asexual identity & lacking interest in boys & fashion