Category Archives: Gender Socialization & Identities

They are ready and able to talk about it

Gender Socialization & Identities

“Appealing to the difference in a non-tokenizing manner in a middle school classroom requires digging deep into the issues of gender, race and class, and pushing students beyond easy notions of black and white or rich and poor and into a realm of ever shifting intersections of identity” (Krywanczyk, pg. 3)

Two thoughts filled my head while reading this personal essay about transexuality and middle school students: I wish the young adults in my classes exhibited the same maturity in discussing trans issues as they did with their studies in Spanish and we need more stories like Krywanczyk’s to strengthen the fabric of our schools. My seventh graders are perhaps my most immature class when it comes to learning Spanish, but they have consistently demonstrated an understanding and compassion towards one of their transsexual classmates that makes me proud. Continue reading They are ready and able to talk about it →

Do I Sound Gay?

Gender Socialization & Identities

Take a walk down any hallway in any middle school or high school in America. The single most common put-down today is, “That’s so gay.” It is deployed constantly, casually, unconsciously. Boys hears it if they dare to try out for school band or orchestra, if they are shy or small, or physically weak and unathletic, if they are smart, wear glasses, or work hard in school. They hear it if they are seen to like girls too much or if they are too much “like” girls. They hear it if their body language, their clothing, their musical preferences don’t conform to the norms of their peers. –Kimmel, p.108

“That’s so gay.” It’s an adjective expression in adolescents. Actually, most of students may not even know what does gay mean in middle schools. They are just saying the words to fit into peers. Continue reading Do I Sound Gay? →

The Cost of High Expectations and its Inflation

Gender Socialization & Identities

“Everybody is expecting me to be something big… this kid is going to be very successful – it’s a possibility that you will see him in the newspapers one day.”

–from Succeeding in the City

Listed as one of the key findings of the Penn study on the success of black and latino students is the universal factor of high expectations among successful minority students. I wonder if that idea may have an unexplored dark side or perhaps its value has become inflated in today’s job market.

Continue reading The Cost of High Expectations and its Inflation →