Gender Lesson 1B: CJ Pascoe's research

Today we are reading a seminal sociological work on gender by sociologist C J Pascoe.

Dude, You’re a Fag, by C.J. Pascoe. 2007.  Pascoe is currently working on three projects: conducting fieldwork for her new book on inequality in high school, examining homophobia in online spaces and interviewing GLBTQ young people about their life experiences. She continues to write about bullying, homophobia, LGBTQ young people and contemporary shifts in definitions masculinity.

Pascoe spent a year and a half doing ethnography at a high school in California in order to “write a book about guys” (That’s how she described it to the students).

Pascoe gained access to the high school by writing the school district office about her research topics and requesting access to the students. She was granted permission to come to the school and conduct interviews with students. So Pascoe made her intentions and motives clear before she began her ethnographic research. (Some ethnographers conceal their purposes as researchers and deceive the people they’re studying--generally because they don’t want people in a setting to alter their usual behavior by virtue of being watched).

Pascoe recognized that high school is the perfect setting to study gender and sexuality. Specifically, she wanted to study the role of masculinity in the lives of both male and female students. She formally interviewed fifty students and informally interviewed “countless” students, faculty, and administrators.

A major component of her study consisted of observations. She spent time observing students in classrooms that included “gender-neutral” sites like Senior Government class and traditionally masculine sites such as auto shop class. She also made observations at drama classes and at Gay/Straight Alliance meetings. She took field notes (in order words, she filled notebooks) of her observations about how students, faculty, and administrators constructed meanings of gender and sexuality. She also spent time with students at lunch and popular school events like the Winter Ball, rallies, plays, and dances.

As you read, think about how school and peers combine to create socialization messages about masculinity. Are these messages latent or manifest? How do they affect males? What are the possible effects on females? Is this true at our school? Be sociologically mindful for a few days and see if you can hear similar messages.

Read this excerpt from Dude You're a Fag by CJ Pascoe.

As you read the excerpt answer the questions below in this Google Form.

1.  Describe Pascoe's research.   What is she focused on - both generally and specifically?

2.  What are the gendered meanings of the word "fag"?

3.  What does Pascoe mean by the idea of "fag fluidity"?

4.  What does Pascoe's research show about race and the use of the word "fag"?

5.  Have you heard this type of discourse (not necessarily the same word) at Stevenson?

6.  Have you heard this type of discourse (not necessarily the same word) in middle school?

7.  Pascoe's research is almost 15 years old now, but do you think it is still interesting/enlightening?  Why or why not?

If there is still time left in class, watch Pascoe talk about her research here: