ERIC Number: EJ831833
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0159-6306
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Poofy Dresses and Big Guns: A Post-Structuralist Analysis of Gendered Positioning through Talk amongst Friends
Willett, Rebekah
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v27 n4 p441-455 Dec 2006
This article uses data collected from a class of eight to nine year olds to show the specific ways children are defining their gendered positions within the context of their same sex friendship groups. Children's subjectivities are described as both actively formed and also positioned within the surrounding (gendered) discourses. This article will show specific ways that structure and agency is played out through talk amongst friends. Importantly, analysis of the talk indicates that children are able to both align themselves as well as challenge dominant gendered discourses. The article argues that informal talk amongst friends is an important space for children to make sense of masculinities and femininities and to develop their identities, particularly in the context of school.
Descriptors: Children, Elementary School Students, Friendship, Homogeneous Grouping, Sex, Context Effect, Teacher Researchers, Gender Differences, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Interpersonal Communication
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A