Female-Teacher Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Ontario, Canada

[The Romans] created the cult of the Vestal Virgins, high-minded priestesses of the goddess Vesta, Guardian Angel of Mankind and Keeper of the Hearth. These priestesses were educated in special normal training schools, were forbidden to many, were subjected to drastic moral codes, and were accorded social position of preeminence.¹
Spinster teachers were hired so frequently in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that they eventually became an important part of the cultural landscape.²
Single women seem forever to unnerve, anger and unwittingly scare large swaths of the population, both female and male.³     

Queering Constructs: Proposing a Dynamic Gender and Sexuality Model

Abstract

Higher education educators commonly understand social identities, including gender, to be fluid and dynamic. Lev's (2004) model of four components of sexual identity is commonly used to demonstrate the fluidity of sex, gender, and sexuality for individuals, but it does little to address the fixedness of those constructs. Through a multipronged intersectional framework and by centering trans* -students, this article proposes a more dynamic model for gender and sexuality.     

阶级、性别与民族关系交融的多重身份 ——中国共产党第二次全国代表大会对妇女的阶级分析

运用文本分析的方法研究中国共产党第二次全国代表大会<关干妇女运动的决议>对中国妇女的阶级划分可知,无产阶级妇女是凝聚阶级、民族与性别多重关系的概念;阶级分析是中国共产党对妇女进行革命动员的方法,是制定妇女解放方针政策的依据;无产阶级妇女的概念对当时中国妇女主体身份的建构具有一定意义.     

Intersections of Gender,Race and Class in the Primary School

In order to highlight the gender dimension of groupwork I undertook a piece of research in an inner city primary school. My aim was to discover how the group dynamic is affected by altering the gender composition. Consequently I set up a research project in which two groups of primary aged children, one mixed sex, the other girls only, worked on an identical craft, design and technology task. My research findings illuminate the contradictions, complexities and paradox with which issues of gender in the primary school are riven. The findings support the view that the impact of gender on girls is not uniform and consistent across boundaries of race and class but that the three categories are inextricably interwoven. Race and class make significant contributions to any discourse on inequality and although my research is purportedly about gender, the evidence revealed a need for far more investigation into the ways in which gender intersects with race and class.     

族群政治、性别政治和阶级政治的三维空间--后殖民女性主义批评视角简析

后殖民女性主义以其强烈的批判性直指西方对东方的知识霸权。它揭露了西方知识霸权的生产机制,解构了西方女性主义的分析范畴———"妇女",质疑西方女性主义的方法论,揭示出帝国主义和父权制是相互勾结的。后殖民女性主义把西方女权主义惟一关注的"性别压迫"拓展到"性别、族群、阶级压迫"的三维空间,凸现出性别压迫与其他形式压迫的相互连锁关系。     

从"公府千金"沦为"蒲柳下流" --论迎春的悲剧

贾迎春是金陵十二钗中薄命女中命运最悲惨的一个。她宽厚、平和、可爱，但性情懦弱，是贾府由“公府千金”沦为“蒲柳下流”的第一人。“木头”式的性格缺欠，是迎春婚后对恶运斗争失利并在恶运中死去的内在因素之一。她的父亲贾赦以抵债的形式嫁出了亲生女儿，是造成她悲剧的主要因素，是直接责任者。孙绍祖是刽子手。迎春的悲剧反映了封建末世新旧贵族的权势更迭中旧贵族女性社会地位的沦落。迎春既是全书结构线索的有机部分，又丰富了十二钗的厚度，使美与美被毁灭得到更多角度的展示。     

Linking Class and Gender Inequality: the family and schooling

Some feminists have argued that a woman's class position should be determined by her own employment and work history, whereas Goldthorpe has argued that the family is the basic unit in class analysis, with the husband's occupation determining the class position of all family members, including the wife's. Goldthorpe denies that this position is an example of gender bias, claiming that class and gender inequality are separate issues. This paper argues that gender and class inequality are strongly interconnected, by virtue of the importance of the work in child‐rearing carried out by the wife‐mother and its effects on the child's scholastic achievements and life chances. It shows that within‐family processes are more important than class position in affecting children's scholastic achievements. It further argues that children's family environments are affected by the biographies of both parents. The institutional separation of the family, schooling and the work‐place means that there will be great variability in the biographies of parents who are in the same ‘class position’ by virtue of their occupations. The notion of a single indicator of ‘class position’ therefore seems inappropriate, and too static for the complex institutional relationships involved.     

阶层、身体、欲望:“新维多利亚小说”中的性别政治

以拜厄特和沃特斯为首的当代英国女作家所创作的"新维多利亚小说"凸显了维多利亚时代的性别政治。"新维多利亚小说"从维多利亚女性的经济依附与性别话语权、"性别规范"下的"身体欲望"、通灵术与女性诉求这几个层面将女性的历史和身份重新概念化,在对历史的重述当中进行着女性的自我意识和主体的构建。     

Codes,Silences, and Homophobia: Challenging Normative Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary LGBTQ Young Adult Literature

Since the publication of the first young adult novel to deal with issues of sexual identity, John Donovan’s (1969) I’ll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip, over 200 novels have been published centered around gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) characters and conflicts (Cart and Jenkins, 2006, The Heart has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969–2004. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press). In significant contrast to early texts, many authors in recent years have sought to promote inclusion of LGBTQ individuals and to present LGBTQ characters in a positive light. To do so, they frequently create antagonistic homophobic characters and situations that provide a sense of realism (Crisp, 2009, Children’s Literature in Education, 40, 333–348). In this paper, I present several representative examples from these novels that challenge homophobia, but ultimately leave it intact. Text excerpts are drawn from the numerous contemporary realistic LGBTQ-themed texts, published between the years 2000–2005, and marketed to young adults. I then contrast these texts with the novel Boy Meets Boy (Levithan, 2003). Through the novel’s blurred genres and inventive use of linguistic features, Boy Meets Boy is able to more effectively undermine heteronormative assumptions by presenting the unthinkable: children as sexual beings, hegemonic masculinity as in fact non-hegemonic and detrimental to success, and homosexuality as normalized and even ordinary.     

A Way Forward: Nurturing the Imagination at the Intersection of Race,Class, Gender,and Age

Those who are oppressed often find themselves internalizing voices that limit their ability. This article focuses on a population that falls on the non-hegemonic side of the intersection of race, class, gender, and age: Black girls from poor and working-class backgrounds. From my work with youth, I have noticed that internalizing these limiting voices lead to a sense of personal hopelessness. I suggest that Christian educators combat personal hopelessness by nurturing the theological imagination of their youth.     

Discussing Gender and Sexuality in a Context-Appropriate Way: Queer Narratives in an EFL College Classroom in Japan

This article recounts my search for a context-appropriate way of exploring gender and sexuality issues in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. The first half of the article explains why and how I sought a pedagogic strategy that would be educationally effective, institutionally viable, and culturally appropriate-in my case, for EFL students in a cultural studies course at a Christian women's college in western Japan. I sought an approach that would harmonize with the sociocultural context and with principles of effective language learning, as well as affirm the identities and rights of queer-identifying individuals but without reinforcing static sexual-identity stereotypes. The second half of the article illustrates how I used life-history narratives of local Japanese individuals to generate classroom inquiry about issues of gender and sexuality. It presents excerpts from audio-taped class discussions about the experiences of a lesbian university student (Naomi), a gay high school teacher (Kaito), and a transgender schoolmate of one of my students (Reiko). These class discussions indicate that using local queer narratives as teaching material may prove an effective way of exploring issues of sexuality, gender, and language, especially within institutional or regional contexts in which open discussion of sexuality may seem challenging or unfamiliar.     

Gender Relations and the Production of Difference in School-based Sexuality and HIV/AIDS Education in Australia

HIV/AIDS discourses have not only made people aware of HIV as a disease entity but have opened up new ways of thinking and talking about sex and sexuality. This article draws on findings from an evaluation of a pilot sexuality education programme, conducted in secondary schools in Victoria (Australia), to examine gender relations and the production of difference. Participating schools were required to incorporate teaching and learning experiences which normalised and affirmed sexual diversity and explored issues around HIV-related discrimination and homophobia. Two examples, gender, power and menstruation and heterosexism and homophobia, are used to analyse the language and practices students engage in as part of the process of achieving a (hetero)sexual identity. It is argued that HIV/AIDS education and sexuality education, more broadly defined, presents a particular challenge to dominant forms of masculinity and that programmes need to address gender, power and heterosexuality and its discontents if they are to have a positive impact on HIV-related discrimination and homophobia.     

Motivation to Learn Science: Differences Related to Gender,Class Type,and Ability

Abstract

Motivation differences of gender, science class type (biological vs. physical), and ability level of 242 high school students were investigated. High achievers and physical science students had higher scores than did low achievers and biological science students on academic goals, valuing science, and perceived ability. Boys had higher scores than did girls on perceived ability and stereotyped views of science. For only a subset of variables, these main effects were moderated by class type using achievement-level interaction. The class type main effect was moderated by gender in only one instance. Gender did not interact with achievement level for any variable. Instructional implications are discussed.     

Social Class,Gender and Ethnic Differences in Subjects Taken at Age 14.

In this paper, we identify patterns of subject and qualification choices made at age 14. Much of the previous research on ‘subject choice’ has focussed on the later stages of educational trajectories, particularly Higher Education. However, the choices made at early branching points can limit pupils’ subsequent options, potentially contributing to educational inequalities. This paper identifies the patterns of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) subjects chosen by a cohort of young people born in 1989/1990. We make use of the Next Steps data (formerly the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)) which is linked to the National Pupil Database. We develop an approach to measuring the academic selectivity of subjects and qualifications. We examine the roles of social class, parental education, income, gender and ethnicity in determining participation in these curriculum groupings. Using measures of prior attainment from age thirteen, we address the question of whether curriculum differentials simply reflect differences in prior attainment or whether they actually operate above and beyond existing inequalities. We find clear socio-economic, gender, ethnic and school-level differences in subjects studied which cannot be accounted for by prior attainment.     

Numbers are Just Not Enough: A Critical Analysis of Race,Gender, and Sexuality in Elementary and Middle School Health Textbooks

Textbooks are a multimillion dollar publishing business in the United States. Even as 21st-century classrooms become more multimodal, digital and hardcopy textbooks remain a key feature of American education. Consequently, classroom textbooks have been shown to control knowledge dissemination across the content areas. In particular, health texts have been uniquely shown to communicate values that validate or marginalize students and encourage healthy or harmful activity. Thus, what textbook makers choose to include as worthy of study, and how they portray various groups of people with regard to race, gender, and sexuality has societal implications. Employing quantitative and qualitative content analysis methods, we analyzed 1,468 images across elementary and middle school health textbooks to examine the portrayal of race, gender, and sexuality. We found that, although gender and racial diversity are well-represented in texts, women and people of color were frequently portrayed in stereotypical roles. For example, girls were depicted daydreaming about heterosexual marriage. Furthermore, this analysis revealed limited representations of sexuality. Findings suggest that focusing on the numerical representation of marginalized groups is not enough to address issues of equity and power in classroom curricula. Instead, we argue, educators must consider the ways in which people are positioned in curricular materials, and ask if portrayals perpetuate or challenge traditional stereotypes.     

Labour Market Influence on Recruitment to Higher Education – Gender and Class Perspectives

The hypothesis that an economic recession in society leads to class equalisation in the recruitment of new students to higher education is tested, using data from Sweden. The 1990s is a period suitable for these analyses, as the recession started in 1991, reached the highest unemployment level in 1993; finally, at the end of the decade the labour market recovered. Multivariate, binary logistic regressions of entry into higher education are performed with gender divided analyses. Register data from Sweden comprising the total population in the age range 18–21 years from six cohorts are analysed. When the labour market was the most difficult, more young students from lower classes entered higher education. When the labour market recovered, men from lower classes tended to abandon higher education. However, women from lower classes continued to increase their involvement. The result indicate that the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test, works in favour of men from higher classes through repeated test taking. The hypothesis about the influence from the labour market was supported for the group of men, while results were less clear for women. The results indicate that future research must carefully consider gender aspects.