Page 137 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 137
m. hrženjak ■ sporty boys and fashion girls ...
already won” (Gill, 2014), our analysis shows that masculinity and femi-
ninity exist only in relation to each other and continue to be constructed
through normative everyday discourses and practices, which strongly re-
flect traditional gender relations. In developing their identities, children
draw on culturally available resources in their immediate social networks
and society as a whole, with the school environment as a powerful trans-
mitter of gender norms. These resources are strongly gendered with males
and females receiving different messages, being constrained differently
and having access to different codes. To avoid reinforcing the tradition-
al gender dichotomy and power relations, but also to support children in
less rigid, more plural and inclusive identity formations, the school should
instead of favouring the existing gender norms systematically enable the
expression of alternative ways of doing masculinity and femininity by en-
couraging the understanding of how gender stereotypes, in coeffect with
class and ethnic ascriptions, influence their self-image, self-esteem and the
experiencing of their peers. This includes positive recognition of non-bi-
nary and non-heteronormative gender identities and a critical reflection
of the dominant gender representations passed on by the profit-oriented
mass media, popular culture, fashion, advertising and sports industries.
The question arises whether traditional approaches to education that
aim to maintain the status quo, reinforcing the current power structures
and pursuing pupils’ competitiveness that employs fear and shame to mo-
tivate their growth, are able to support these processes. As an alternative
or at least a complement to traditional educational approaches, feminist
pedagogy (Shrewsbury, 1987) with its principle that educators seek to em-
power students by offering opportunities for critical thinking, self-anal-
ysis, and the development of voice, appears to be a viable approach for ac-
complishing that goal. By democratising the classroom situation, feminist
pedagogical approaches create space for dialogue that reflects the multiple
voices and realities of the students, discussing the students’ own experi-
ences and finding commonalities that individuals thought were only per-
sonal matters of their own lives. Encouraging students’ agency, both per-
sonal and political, brings them to realise their own personal stereotypes
that stem from race, class and any other background characteristics. It de-
velops, in joint reflection with students, complex accounts of personal and
social reality by questioning the notion of a coherent social subject or es-
sential identity, articulating the multifaceted and shifting nature of iden-
tities and oppressions. The critical skills fostered by use of a feminist peda-
gogical framework encourage recognition and active resistance to societal
oppressions. Fostering feminist pedagogical principles can strengthen the
school in its function of being a safe and open space in which children and
135
already won” (Gill, 2014), our analysis shows that masculinity and femi-
ninity exist only in relation to each other and continue to be constructed
through normative everyday discourses and practices, which strongly re-
flect traditional gender relations. In developing their identities, children
draw on culturally available resources in their immediate social networks
and society as a whole, with the school environment as a powerful trans-
mitter of gender norms. These resources are strongly gendered with males
and females receiving different messages, being constrained differently
and having access to different codes. To avoid reinforcing the tradition-
al gender dichotomy and power relations, but also to support children in
less rigid, more plural and inclusive identity formations, the school should
instead of favouring the existing gender norms systematically enable the
expression of alternative ways of doing masculinity and femininity by en-
couraging the understanding of how gender stereotypes, in coeffect with
class and ethnic ascriptions, influence their self-image, self-esteem and the
experiencing of their peers. This includes positive recognition of non-bi-
nary and non-heteronormative gender identities and a critical reflection
of the dominant gender representations passed on by the profit-oriented
mass media, popular culture, fashion, advertising and sports industries.
The question arises whether traditional approaches to education that
aim to maintain the status quo, reinforcing the current power structures
and pursuing pupils’ competitiveness that employs fear and shame to mo-
tivate their growth, are able to support these processes. As an alternative
or at least a complement to traditional educational approaches, feminist
pedagogy (Shrewsbury, 1987) with its principle that educators seek to em-
power students by offering opportunities for critical thinking, self-anal-
ysis, and the development of voice, appears to be a viable approach for ac-
complishing that goal. By democratising the classroom situation, feminist
pedagogical approaches create space for dialogue that reflects the multiple
voices and realities of the students, discussing the students’ own experi-
ences and finding commonalities that individuals thought were only per-
sonal matters of their own lives. Encouraging students’ agency, both per-
sonal and political, brings them to realise their own personal stereotypes
that stem from race, class and any other background characteristics. It de-
velops, in joint reflection with students, complex accounts of personal and
social reality by questioning the notion of a coherent social subject or es-
sential identity, articulating the multifaceted and shifting nature of iden-
tities and oppressions. The critical skills fostered by use of a feminist peda-
gogical framework encourage recognition and active resistance to societal
oppressions. Fostering feminist pedagogical principles can strengthen the
school in its function of being a safe and open space in which children and
135
