Masculinities/Femininities in Education Saskia Aerts Wendelien Vantieghem Department of Sociology

Research problem Research on LGB students How do LGB students in Flemish secondary schools experience their school careers?

Research problem Previous research Bullying and discrimination of LGB students in secondary schools Heteronormative school environment  Have an impact on: – Well-being and mental health – School careers and future success in life

Research problem Situation in Flanders Belgium as an LGB friendly country Positive attitudes toward LGBs BUT: Heteronormativity in secondary schools Negative attitudes among secondary school students

Research problem Focus Sense of school belonging School motivation School performance

Research problem Sample Online survey 1745 secondary school students: – 90.4% heterosexual (N: 1517) – 4.4% bisexual (N: 88) – 5.2% homosexual/lesbian (N: 74) Mean age: 16 years old

Research problem Results Lesbian and bisexual girls have a slightly lower sense of school belonging Lesbian girls are slightly less motivated to perform Lesbian girls are more likely to fail

Research problem Interaction effect

Research problem Conclusion Vulnerable position of lesbian girls: – Girls internalize distress more – Invisibility of lesbians in society – Social relations are more important for girls – Lesbian girls experience other kinds of discrimination – Girls struggle more with their sexual orientation – Gender role can be a disadvantage for some lesbian girls

Research problem Research on masculinities/femininities How does gender identity impact study processes?

Research problem This research Achievement of boys vs. girls – Looking beyond the gender dichotomy Link with previous research: = Follow-up study with: – Focus on gender identity as explanatory variable – Impact on all students, not just LGB

Research problem Gender identity How ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ do you feel? Problem: theoretical & methodological ambigousness  Gender typicality (Egan & Perry, 2001) o Identification measure o ‘I think I am a good example of a typical girl/boy’, ‘I feel like my personality is similar to that of most girls/boys’

Research problem Focus Study motivation: – Intrinsic study motivation – Extrinsic study motivation Academic self-efficacy

Research problem Sample Class-based survey th grade students: – Clustered in 59 schools over Flanders – Mean age: 12 years old – 53,8% boys & 46,2% girls

Research problem Results Typical girls > typical boys > atypical boys > atypical girls Well-being explains an important part of this association The effect of gender typicality is stronger for girls than boys

Research problem Graph boy girl Gender typicality

Research problem Research conclusions Similarities and differences

Research problem Gender identity vs. sexual identity Assumption: similarities between gender atypical and non-heterosexual people: – They both deviate from the norm – Non-heterosexual people show more gender atypical behaviour

Research problem Similarity Vulnerable position of atypical & lesbian girls: Student role and feminine role should coincide BUT atypical & lesbian girls fail on both accounts  lower well-being BUT: when controlling for well-being, the effect of gender/sexual identity remains  Identity struggle

Research problem Similarity Smaller impact of gender identity on boys than on girls: – Smaller impact of well-being – Lads culture What if there is no difference in the impact of gender identity?  Sample effect: boys’ identity develops slower

Research problem Difference Why are atypical boys different from gay boys? – Gay boys accept being different – Identity struggle of atypical boys – Atypical boys avoid associations with the feminine student role What if atypical boys do not differ from gay boys?  Sample effect of age

Research problem Discussion points Gay boys experience less identity struggle  WHY? Why not focus on those who excell?

Thanks for your attention! Saskia Aerts Wendelien Vantieghem Department of Sociology

Research problem Interested in more? Aerts, S., Van Houtte, M., Dewaele, A., Cox, N., Vincke, J. (2012), Sense of belonging in secondary schools: A survey of LGB and heterosexual students in Flanders. Journal of Homosexuality, 59, 1, p Aerts, S., Van Houtte, M., Dewaele, A., Cox, N., & Vincke, J. (2012). School motivation in secondary schools: A survey of LGB and heterosexual students in Flanders. Youth & Society, 7.abstract 7.abstract Other articles: on demand or