sexual identities

what are the 5 ways gender and sexual identities are reinforced in school?

• verbal abuse

• male peer group

• teachers and discipline

• the male gaze

• double standards

what’s verbal abuse?

a rich vocabulary of abuse is one of the ways in which dominant gender and sexual identities reinforced. For example, boys use name-calling to put girls down if they behave or dress in certain ways

evidence?

sees name calling as helping to shape gender identity and maintain male power. The use of ‘gay’ and ‘lexie’ are ways sexualities policed

what are male peer groups?

male peer groups also use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity. E.g. as studies show, anti-school subcultures often accuse boys who want to do well at school of being ‘gay/effeminate’

what is teachers and discipline?

• male teachers often have a protective attitude towards female teachers and pupils, coming into their classes to ‘save’ them, by threatening pupils who are being disruptive

what is the male gaze?

the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, judging them on their appearance

what are double standards?

a sociologist?

we apply one set of moral standards to one group and a different set to another. Lees identifies a double standards of sexual morality: boys boast their sexuality or get called ‘gay’, whereas girls get called a ‘slag’