NCJ Number
215980
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 25 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 26-33
Date Published
September 2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined how boys in a secondary school in North Queensland, Australia, were encouraged to perform in ways that cultivated a recognizable masculine identity, how this negatively impacted female students, and how this situation was promoted by the government publication, "Boys: Getting It Right: Report on the Inquiry Into the Education of Boys Policy."
Abstract
Findings show that the boys observed in this study drew upon a catalog of traditional "boyish" behaviors accepted by teachers and school administrators as inherent in boys in contrast to girls. These behaviors included being "cool," making and getting into trouble, the use of "bad" language, and the sexualized harassment of female classmates. These behaviors involve the demeaning and devaluing of girls who act in traditionally feminine ways, while targeting for harassment those girls who do not conform to boys' image of the typical girl. "Boys: Getting It Right: Report on the Inquiry Into the Education of Boys" fuels and perpetuates distinctive and stereotypical identities and behaviors for boys and girls as though gender is necessarily related to certain characteristics and behaviors. It fails to encourage teachers to individualize students regardless of sex and to guide the development of behaviors that show respect for other students. These findings derive from data collected through the author's observations and coding of student and teacher behaviors in four ninth-grade English classes over a semester. She also conducted interviews and administered questionnaires to male and female students as well as teachers. 32 references