Chapter 1 Summary - Dude You're a Fag
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Chapter 1 Summary – Dude You’re a Fag – Summary by Jimmy Edwards
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The Chapter Begins with a story of a tradition at River High – The Mr. Cougar Assembly/Competition.
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In the competition, a group of white males rally their peers in the stands by putting on a skit. They begin as nerds who can’t lift weights or get the girls they want, but after working out and getting some coaching, they take revenge on the black “gangstas” that are keeping them from getting what they want (girls, popularity)
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Pascoe reflects on the experience, noticing how this superiority of masculinity defines many of these students. Sexuality, masculinity, and race play a huge part in many of these students’ lives.
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Quote on Page 5 regarding Masculinity – “My findings illustrate that masculinity is not a homogenous category that any boy possesses by virtue of being male. Rather, masculinity – as constituted and understood in the social world I studied – is a configuration of practices and discourses that different youths (boys and girls) may embody in different ways and to different degrees. Masculinity, in this sense, is associated with, but not reduced or solely equivalent to, the male body.
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Pascoe on how boys achieve a masculine identity
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“Repeated repudiation of the specter of failed masculinity”
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Ex.) Throwing homophobic slurs at each other
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Heterosexist discussions of girls, their bodies, and sexual experiences
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The R.W. Connell argument for “multiple masculinities”
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There is not a single masculine “role”, but different roles or categories for masculinity
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Sep 24Sean McDonald Sean McDonald : There is not a single masculine "role", but different roles or categories for masculinity. moreI found this statement to be enlightening because it reveals (more so than other quotes) that masculinity truly is a socially constructed concept and not some clear-cut, concrete concept (i.e. science or math). This statement suggests that masculinity depends in large part due to its context. While some social circles find weightlifting to be masculine, other social circles may find dancing to me masculine— it all depends, which makes masculinity a socially fabricated phenomenon. Frankly, if there was a single, concrete masculinity role, then Pascoe would not have much basis to write this book in the first place. Thoughts?
Sep 24Gabriel;Gabe Planas Gabriel;Gabe Planas : As future teachers, what are some ways that we can combat intolerance for stereotyping feminine guys and masculine girls and the LGBT community? moreI’d say that the high school that I went to was relatively accepting of said students. However, there was still a fair amount of harassment for acting “gay.” What are some effective strategies that teachers and faculty can implement to halt this behavior (and taking it further, bullying?)
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Hegemonic masculinity – supports gender inequality in general (Top of hierarchy)
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Complicit masculinity – describes men who benefit from hegemonic masculinity, but do not enact it
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Sep 24I am having a hard time trying to wrap my head around complicit masculinity. From what I gather, from the given definition, complicit masculinity seems to be a phenomenon in which one gains “masculinity” in the eyes of his peers by mere coincidence of fitting a specific label in a specific context (i.e. a guy who happens to be really good at basketball, plays on the school team, but isn’t really your prototypical “jock”). Would anyone like to explain this term?
Sep 24Sean— I think you nailed it on the head. In my mind, this is a guy who is athletic, active in school, and probably popular, but not a jerk about it. I can think of a couple examples of guys like this from my high school, but I’m not exactly sure if I agree with this terminology to begin with… are you only a “good guy” if you don’t act masculine?
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Subordinated masculinity – describes men who are oppressed by definitions of hegemonic masculinity ( ex. Gay Men)
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Marginalized Masculinity – describes men who may be positioned powerfully in terms of gender by not in terms of class or race
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Hegemonic masculinity is rare, but all men benefit from some form masculinity in this definition
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“Sexuality” does not just mean to categorize by sexual orientation or identity. It is a broad idea of having power based on sexual acts/norms/identities, and the logic of sexuality “regulates intimate relations but also infuses social relations and social structures.” – Page 11
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Sep 22Timothy;Tim Hilliard Timothy;Tim Hilliard : Moving forward, what do these theories look like as they are applied in the real world? moreI understand the logic of sexuality is much more complex than we often make it out to be. So is Pascoe saying that it regulates what we know as social relations and structure, and she just wants to make us aware of that and think critically about that fact, or does she believe that we need to be taking radical steps to combat this notion? And that any adherence to, or promotion of, the more “traditional” sexual identities is therefore wrong or unjust?
Sep 23James Edwards James Edwards : From what I gathered, Pascoe didn't necessarily give her personal opinions, but rather things that she was gathering from her studies. I don't think she was calling to action yet just in this first chapter. Perhaps later she will though
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Queer Theory –“Queer Theorists examine sexual power as it is embedded in different areas of social life and interrogate areas of the social world not usually seen as sexuality”
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Masculinity is a Process
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Gender is “achieved” through day-to-day actions. It is not necessarily just based on one’s sex. We are expected to act like men if we are male, and act like women if we are female. Thus, gender and masculinity is created by our own actions and how we perceive them.
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This is known as the Interactionist approach to gender – The idea that “gender is not just a quality of an individual, but the result of interactional processes.” Page 14
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Social groups in Schools (cliques) give teens a way to establish their position and social class, as well as race.
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There is no one group (i.e. cowboys, jocks, preps) that is universally dominant – it varies by school and environment.
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ABOUT RIVER HIGH
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Suburban high school – 50 years old in a town called Riverton in north central California
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Racial diversity and Median household income are above national average
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However, proportions for college attendance, marriage rates, and age distribution are right at national averages.
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Riverton has about 100,000 residents
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Over 50% white and about 25% Latino/Hispanic, the other quarter is split between African-American or Asian
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Moderate to conservative religious community – Most churches are Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical, or nondenominational
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Sep 23Ben Willis Ben Willis : Religion could effect gender identities and/or definitions of masculinity? moreLet me start by saying I am definitely not trying to insult religious people or people of faith. But in my experience growing up in a Baptist church, the doctrine put forth on masculinity and gender is very set it stone. Men are supposed to be providers and protectors, while women are supposedly submissive. Masculine women and feminine males are thought of as “abject identities” and LGBT individuals are largely seen to been anomalies. I think the fact that Riverton has a large conservative religious base could contribute to the alienation of those who do not fit into their conventional gender norms. I look forward to reading the rest of the book to see if this is the case.
Sep 23James Edwards James Edwards : Yeah that's an interesting point. I wonder if it's "wrong" to have these gender roles in the first place.
Sep 24Gender roles are deeply entrenched in our culture. This is partially biological. There are physical DIFFERENCES between genders. It is why women can’t be Navy Seals (a point that the majority of female officers recognize and accept). Some gender roles should exist. Many of their cultural details should be carefully examined and I think ultimately dispelled.
Assuming the goal is a progressive society, some of the injustices of how gender roles are APPROPRIATED should be addressed. All too often in religious settings, gender roles are either appropriated or created or perpetuated as a means of control; usually in the name of “God’s intentions” or for the “good of the church.”
For example, women bear children (biological fact), therefore their place is always in the home raising said children (constructed unjust gender role). I would say this appropriation of a gender role is unjust. When it is forced upon a female (or male) for that matter), it should be viewed as wrong.
As a person of faith and a citizen of the U.S., these appropriations of gender roles trouble me as they bleed into society as a whole and have effects across society, not just in particular denominations of Christianity.
Sep 24Ben— that’s an interesting connection that you make, and I can’t help but agree. I have also noticed that there tends to be a strong correlation between those who make derogatory comments towards “masculine women and feminine men” and conservative religious views. However, I believe that it is not only “tradition,” but also a social construction that translates over to religion pretty easily.
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Residents refer to Riverton as two parts – “Old Riverton” and “New Riverton”
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A busy highway and railroad tracks bisect the two
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River High is on the “wrong side of the tracks” in Old Riverton
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Old Riverton is the clearly less vitalized than New Riverton
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A little more run down, half the store fronts empty
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Still fine though. Effort has been made to revamp this side
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New Riverton has wider streets and more sidewalks. Beautiful mountains in the distance. Idealized suburban single family homes with nice lawns.
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Teens from these homes attend Hillside High School, the other high school in the Riverton district
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River High physically looks like many American Schools
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Several one story buildings connected together – hallways to connect with lockers
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Has mobile classrooms for more space
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But, not enough money to build more building for increased student population
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About 2000 students attended the High School during Pascoe’s time
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The students at River High are primarily working class, though some middle class and poor
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A very archetypal high school in that there is emphasis on academics, sports, and the general community
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Big on football, school spirit
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Pascoe conducted lots of research
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Interviews with dozens of students - These took between 45 min to 90 min
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She hung around during school hours, after school, and at various events to talk with students about her research
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Sep 20It worries me about Pascoe’s research methods. Specifically, how she attempts to informally interact with students sort of “blending in.” She indicated that the students definitely knew she was an outsider. To what extent can the interactions she had with students be considered entirely indicative of the student body? I will always have this in mind as I read her anecdotal evidence.
All in all however, this is incredibly important research and definitely made me more critical of the cultural pageantries at my own High School growing up.
Sep 23I definitely agree with you that students might have changed their answers because they knew she was an outsider. But I don’t really see any other way she could have conducted the research. If she acted like an authority figure the students might have distrusted her, but if she had totally blended in she would have been seen as dishonest and untrustworthy once she started asking questions. What do you think could have worked better?
Sep 23James Edwards James Edwards : She says explicitly that she did not try to "blend in." She did wear informal clothes though, and her wording makes me think she did this just to make the students more comfortable and for them to truly be themselves more.
Sep 24Ok, that helps clarify that point. She was not attempting to “blend in” precisely. More like she was attempting to be as informal or “invisible” as an adult as possible. Regardless of her efforts however, I am concerned about the effect her presence had on observation however minor. I agree she definitely did the best she could to minimize these effects though.
In any case, I was “impressed” by the observations she came away with (the fact that they happened within earshot). -
She devoted time to different areas of predisposed masculinity
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Highly genderized events – school lunch, dances, school rallies, plays.
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Gender-“neutral” sites – senior government classroom for example. Where sexuality is generally subdued
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Sites students marked as “fag” – (drama classes, Gay/Straight Alliance)
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Normatively “masculine” sites (Auto shop, weight lifting class)
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She sometimes hung around the principal, Mr. Johnson (Mr. J) while he sometimes carted around grounds in his golf cart, to observe how students were disciplined, etc
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She wore comfortable clothing – baggy pants, tennis shoes, t shirt or sweater
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She didn’t want to appear too professional, but she didn’t want to make it seem like she was trying to “fit in” with the students either, in terms of the way she carried herself
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Pages 22-24 detail the organization of the whole book, by chapter
General Document Comments 0
My high school was 45% hispanic. We were very diverse and I felt that my high school was very similar to Riverton. Many people were middle class and down, in terms of income and family.
My High School was racially homogenous. Mostly white. Though in Virginia, our demographic closely matched that of Appalachia (mostly white, low to mid socio-economic). Frederick County did have a lot more going for it economically in general though. So in terms of race at least, not very similar to Riverton.
However, Pascoe’s observations at Riverton, how the boys spoke and acted, reminded me very much of my high school. The word fag was thrown around a lot. I rarely heard it in a classroom setting, though I was in upper level courses. Gym class definitely. I ran Cross Country, and though rare, it would get mentioned in a “playful” manner; directed at a team member whose masculinity was not at all in question.
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