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C.J Pascoe chapter 1 and 2

The students and faculty at River High were very influential in sustaining cultural meanings behind sexuality and gender as seen in their traditions such as the Mr. Cougar skits, school dances, and even everyday conversations. The Mr.Cougar skits were very blunt with how they depicted gender norms by showing how men are supposed to look and behave. They showed that men are supposed to be masculine, heterosexual, and display their strength to show dominance. There was one skit in particular were nerdy boys lost their girlfriends to gangsters, and they had to work out to gain physical strength as well as change their appearance to rescue the girls. The girls in this skit weren’t of extreme importance. They were just kidnapped, rescued, or used in comparison with the nerdy boys to show how physically weak they are. The message these skits show is that it is better for young men to be masculine, straight, dress and act a certain way. Before their transformation, the nerds were seen as being comical because they weren’t the ideal type of boy. These skits are approved by administrators which shows that they see nothing wrong with the message it sends. At the school dances the music that is played tends to have derogatory terms for women used in the songs. Both the boys and girls sing along cheerfully. The administration would allow for this kind of music helping to push certain gender norms. Also, the rules surrounding the dress codes were gender specific. Boys couldn’t sag and girls couldn’t show their midriff. The wording of the dress code implies that girls can sag and boys can show their midriff even though one can assume the administration won’t approve of this. They gave the clothing a gender instead of saying all students are banded from wearing crop tops and sagging their pants. Comments that were intended to be innocent or humorous can also contribute to the cultural meanings of sexuality. The teacher Ms. Mac jokingly referred to her male and female students as being a couple. Her comment was heteronormative because it pushed the idea that a male and female relationship has a sexual undertone. Mr.McNally also jokingly hit on one of his male students and one could take his comment as making homosexual flirting seem humorous