5 Assignment 05

In C.J Pascoe’s book, he discusses a flashback that he had to when he witnessed a skit taking place during school. This skit defines masculinity and sexuality in society. He talks about how Brent and Greg, the all popular athletes in school were dressed as nerds. These two guys used high pitched voices as a way to describe a woman and to show they how they were not respected. The contest taking place was to crown Mr. Cougar and Brett and Greg both have their girlfriends kidnapped by men portrayed as “gangstas.” These gangsters define the hypersexual black man by wearing do-rags, baggy pants, and sports jerseys. These things define a hardened black man in black culture. The two develop muscles as a form of masculinity and to show strength. Then they rip off their pants to show their skirts which causes the audience to laugh at them. This displays how being a woman symbolized comedy and weakness. This skit portrays the idea that unmasculine nerds can not fight back in society. This forces men to hold this heterosexual and masculine appearance which society deems appropriate. Heterosexuality is the only proper sexuality for men any other sexuality such as homosexuality would force society to shame them. Society shames men for being gay by calling them faggots and the holding the idea that this act is disgusting. Pascoe creates the idea that lifting weights and working out is masculine and not doing so would cause a man to lose his masculinity. Society suppresses men from indulging in certain activities, which forces them to lead a lifestyle of little choices. This then in turn makes society homophobic, shaming any man who has any inappropriate thoughts or wants to be involved in an activity that is outside of heterosexuality. Society forces men to live in a dark world filled with people watching you. Any man that wants to lead a different lifestyle will face consequences from society.

Children don’t identify race into classes. We often see when we bring kids to a park they all play together whether they are black, white, Asian or different ethnicity. As children grow they begin to differentiate themselves from the other races by classifying themselves based on their ethnicity. On the contrary, how are children able to make such a drastic change? The truth is society teaches them. As we continue taking them to the same park after being influenced by society we observe them playing with children of their own race. We see this problem in CJ Pascoe research. She proved how society, school, family, and administrators force boy to develop heterosexual masculine discipline. She proves this by placing men into different categories for masculinity as listed (Hegemonic masculinity, complicit masculinity, subordinated masculinity, and marginalized masculinity). Due to these various category, every man wants to be in the hegemonic category, if not they will be bullied and fluid with identity with epithet as fag. School and religion teach boys that it is only right to be heterosexual and a sexist instead of being attracted to same sex.

Consequently, this belief strength and encourages boys to practice normative behavior like dating, going to prom, dance, running for student government, sports and so forth. We have taught boys that real men don’t show emotion and if they cry they are considered to be gay. For instance, my friend confided in me that his girlfriend broke up with him. He said to me with tears in his eyes that he related to his mother this issue. She uttered to him, men don’t cry. Immediately he felt weak and less than a man. He told me his mother confined in his father who later called him a girl. He told me he will never cry over a woman again because real men don’t cry. This proves what CJ Pascoe written about in her research where she observe boys often tease other boys  who portray such behavior when they did something out of the norm.

She further relates another scene in the opening of the book to show that boys with soft voices were seen as women and given no respect. Due to this humiliation and inequality force them to establish muscle so that they can be seen as men. She related similar instances whereby heterosexual boys indulge in auto shop and weight lifting activities than participating in drama class due to this culture these young boys refuse to indulge in feminine course to prevent from being an outcast and condemnation. We suppress them from trying different activities and forced to live a body where they are controlled by a control that switched on or off. We force them to hold in their true feeling. We force them to live in a dark and lonely world. A world that shut them off from being who they are and a world to what we expect and want. She uses ethnography to prove that it’s is our culture and surrounding that make us homophobic and if more parents and institution are educated on that topic this division among masculinity will be shared equally The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. An individual shouldn’t be forced into undesirable category because of masculinity

In the first two chapters of C.J. Pascoe’s book, she touches on the subjects on how the students, administrators, and teachers have an effect on the cultural meaning of gender and sexuality at River High. Chapter one starts off talking about the skits the senior boys do in order to be crowned Mr. Cougar. Pascoe describes what took place in this skit which was two nerds get their girls “kidnapped” by gangstas and they would eventually have to end up working out in order to scare the gangstas and end up winning their girls back. This right here shows how the students viewed being weak as a less masculine feature and that being strong is the more masculine thing. Also this shows that women are just a prize to men and women are defenseless due to the fact that the girls couldn’t fight off the gangstas themselves. The students would view drama classes and the Gay/Straight Alliance as being a fag and the masculine sites to be auto shop and weight lifting. The administration also contributes to the meaning of gender and sexuality at River High due to the fact that the organization of school activities encouraging heterosexual pairings, such as the Winter Ball, school rallies, plays, dances and proms. By making events that are meant for heterosexual pairing it teaches the students to think that a boy and girl pairing is the right way to do dances and anything besides that is considered unusual/being a fag. The dress code for the girls also prove that gender differentiation takes place in River High. To emphasize more on the concept of gender differentiation, official school policies encouraged sexual abstinence and discouraged homosexuality. The teachers had a role in this as well. Pascoe mentions a teacher, Ms. Mac, where she  frequently drew on and reinforced concepts of heterosexuality in her teaching. She also had a wall of senior pictures where the vast majority of the pictures showed boy and girl pairs dressed in their formal best. This right here shows that  heterosexuality was celebrated as opposed to homosexuality.

In chapters one and  two of C.J Pascoe’s book I feel we are introduced to gender and sexuality norms throughout the play at River High. In chapter one the play conducted by the student’s we begin to see what is normal and what would be deemed as not socially excepted behavior by these teenagers based on the way they applauded. For instance, when the two boys Brent and Craig exposed red skirts after ripping off their pants. In reference to the way in which the crowd found this to be a humors matter tells us how femininity can be linked to clothing and is found humorous when on the male body due to its emasculating manor. Interestingly enough in contrast to this when the female gym teacher demonstrated her masculinity by lifting up weights she was cheered for in a manor in which showed acceptance although she was female. (Pascoe 4) I found this interesting because it was able to show how any demonstration of masculinity can be deemed an act of power. Where as any act of femininity is deemed weak. To go back to the play at River High, skirts for example seem to demonstrate a characteristic of weakness.  I found this somewhat shocking due to the fact that I’ve lived in places that a male wearing a skirt was not deemed emasculating in any way, due to the fact that gender was not used synonymously with ones sex. But specifically the norms at River High seem to be not only enforced by peers but by teachers and faculty as well. For instance, when Pascoe was trying to conduct her research and was given push back for questions concerning both gender and sexuality. It is evident that even through the play, that these norms were deemed acceptable through study body and staff for it to have have happened without having a conversation about these norms. ( Pascoe 29)

Alfie Corteza

Professor Bullock

Assignment #5

In C.J Pascoe’s book, she focuses on the sexual phase of teenhood of high school students by observing the students, teachers, and faculty at River High School. In the book, Pascoe explains that on top of the student’s actions and regards towards sexuality, the teachers and faculty also play a role in supporting heteronormativity without realizing it. An example would be in the male-dominated classes of weightlifting and auto-shop classes. For instance on page 49, Mr. Ford and Mr. Kellogg joked at Huey’s success in regards to his heterosexual achievements. When the two teachers talked with each other Mr. Ford explained that Huey raised his middle finger to him to say “f*** you.” Mr. Ford then joked with Mr. Kellog at Huey’s success by saying that he doubts Huey had any sex with a girl. By the two teachers judging Huey’s success with females, it reveals that the male teachers reinforce heteronormativity as they automatically relate a male to a female in regards to courtship.

Another instance where the teachers strengthen the gender status would be the club making event. At this time an organization named the “Safer Sex Party” (Pasce, 46) started handing out condoms to the students to promote safe sex. However, as the teacher realized what was being handed out, she automatically went to all of the male students assuming they were the only ones acquiring the condoms, and that they were the only ones concerned about safe sex. In addition to that, the teachers and faculty feared that the students were engaging or practicing in sexual behaviors deemed irresponsible for letting it happen. But on the contrary, it revealed that the student body was responsible for taking precautionary measures to avoid teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

The students also played a part of the basis of masculinity of the males by expressing weakness, high-pitched voices, and lack of protection in their plays. My demonstrating weakness in a man, it reinforces what is considered masculine by making what is seen as a beta male to have female tendencies. Also, it also portrays the man as the protector of the woman, and displays the woman as the damsel in distress and needs help to get out of their situation. An example of this would be the play in the beginning when the two nerds couldn’t protect their girlfriends, and the “gangstas” took them away to their hideout.

As a result, everybody within the high school society plays a role in the idea of masculinity, and gender roles as the students are in peak sexual influences, and the teachers are policing the sexual thoughts and actions.

C.J. Pascoe starts out her book by looking back on a school event she had seen during her fieldwork in River High School. The Mr. Cougar pageant was descried to be a celebration where the student body would vote for the most popular senior boy out of six candidates performing skits. She focused on the skit that was performed by two boys named Brent and Greg. So, the skit starts off with these two boys dressed up as the stereotypical nerd trope. They started a laughable dancing performance involving outdated dance moves like the Running Man and the Roger Rabbit. They would then have rubbed their butts together in tune with the music. Two girls had shown up playing the part of the nerd’s girlfriends, dancing with the nerds. These two so called “gangstas” appeared and started to push the “nerds”. The “gangstas” then steal the two girls. Whenever the nerds would speak, they would do so with a high-pitched feminine voice. This girl dressed in sweats came in to teach the “nerds” how to quote on quote become “men”. With this new strength, the nerds went on to the gangstas’ hideout and rescue their girlfriends. Finally cementing their transition into manhood (Pascoe 2007 1-3). The teacher Ms.Mac had started to take away these condoms that were handed out by the safe sex party. Though the reason that Ms.Mac had taken the condoms would be that be seen as a discretion in the classroom. Pascoe begins to point out that condom was a cultural object to show the importance of heterosexual activity to masculine identities. The male students would then see the condoms as proof of them acting on their heterosexuality and their masculinity (Pascoe 2007 34-35). A student named Huey, he was an outsider compared to most of the male population due to his clothes and just the way he was. He would try to fit in by pulling some sort of stunts to gain their approval. Both the Mr.Ford and Mr.Kellog would tease Huey due to his lack of success with the female sex. At times, Mr.Ford would go from the art class to the auto shop class just to make fun of Huey. One instance where Mr.Ford had told Mr.Kellog that Huey had flipped him off during a lesson. Mr.Ford would then tell Huey that he should be doing that to girls and not to Mr.ford. These teachers would also point out that as Huey was a male that he should be having sexual relation with girls and not Mr.Ford who is a male (Pascoe 2007 35-36).

In C.J Pascoe’s book, the roles of gender identity and sexual orientation was a huge factor that was discussed, especially in the begging of chapter 1 where he explained the skit that took place in this high-school. The theme that was portrayed in this skit highlights the themes of masculinity and sexuality that is present in high school. The contest that was taking place in this skit was called the Mr. Cougar competition and it shows the different dynamics of sexuality, gender, social class, and race. The skit starts off with two nerds who are un-masculine and have high pitched voices and can not protect their girlfriends when they are kidnapped by the complete opposite version of themselves. The skit shows how they do a complete 360 change in their overall appearance and act like someone who they are not, just to prove to themselves and everyone around them that they are masculine. When they were trying to change who they were by working out, it showed that they were weak and came across as they were homosexual. In representing black men, the ganstas in this skit symbolized the hyper- sexuality by threatening the white men’s control over how they treat and protect their women.  I believe the entire message of this skit was wrong in so many ways by how they were trying portray that if your a young man you have to act a certain way. You need to be masculine and straight and act a certain way, because if not it wouldn’t be considered the “norm”. The administration of this school must agree with this skit because they approved of it and allowed it be shown in-front of the school, meaning they agree with the skits overall message of it. The administration must be trying to prove a message of a certain norm they want to have in their school, that in order to be a regular boy you must be masculine and powerful and heterosexual and not homosexual and a nerd/weak. Gender and sexuality was a huge part in this skit and I believe that is not the social norm. It does not matter in today’s day what sexuality identity you are or how you even identify yourself. I believe that there is no social norm and everyone should choose to live their life the way they want too.

As Pascoe discusses in her book, the ideations of gender and sexuality begins forming during childhood, and is further explored during the adolescent years. When students enter high school, a highly sexual place full of raging hormones, new feelings of self-discovery begin at a rapid speed and it is during the school environment when teens are most impressionable. The beginning Mr. Cougar contest was an example of how gender lines are drawn by our peers within our society. Excluding girls from the competition, gives the feeling that there is no mutual respect for the girls in the school. Having their Mom’s escort them, demonstrates a machismo attitude where the boys are seen as men of the house, and are cared for and given away by women (Pascoe, 26) It is during the second chapter that the most examples of fear, division, bias, and hate occur. One of the parts I found to be most disgusting was when the art teacher jokes with the auto shop teacher about the student flipping him the bird. Telling him that he should be fucking girls and not giving him the finger was childish and ignorant (Pascoe, 37). It felt to me as though the art teacher was asserting his own masculinity towards the auto shop teacher, by showing him he can be “one of the guys”, with his locker room banter. It makes me believe that he probably speaks about the girls in the school the same manner. I am surprised that Pascoe failed to speak up to the derogatory comments made by the art teacher, I would not have been able to hold myself back from letting him know how his comments are not appropriate for a teacher, who is supposed to be a positive role model. The popular social science teacher Ms. Mac missed the mark, by not turning the awkward and debatable condom subject, into a positive learning experience about sexual conduct. Instead she fell into her feminine role, shying away from talking about sex or anything related to it, because that is not what nice girls do. She had a great opportunity, to use her popularity as way to reach the students, to teach them about the risks involved, as a matter of fact she should have just let Arturo teach them because he seemed to have a better way of handling it. This experience, along with the inappropriately named Man Party, the political club designed by the students which basically made a mockery of women’s rights, and River High School’s White Heritage clubs are disturbing examples of how uneducated people are imposing negativity and social division, regarding gender and identity

Gender and sexuality at River High is mostly shaped by the environment to which students are exposed to. C.J. Pascoe claims how students begin to explore their identity through sexual conversations and activities. The interactions adolescents have everyday structures their actions accordingly to a fall under a category of gender. She uses various examples to show how the system employed in the River High molds the gender and sexuality of their students. One of the scenarios she mentions is when they are performing in the Mr.Cougar competition. The response from the audience is key to the outcome of the competition and molding of gender. When the behavior of the student seem too feminine or too masculine the crowd will cheer or laugh. This shows that the gender is categorized by the way their voice sounded, or the body movements they made that somehow fulfill the expectations of the audience. Also, teachers played a role in the formation of the gender and sexuality of the students. When the principal places a dress code for the students it creates a form of inequality and a division between gender. There were times when teachers made jokes about sexuality to their students to address the topic but at the same time not being open to the students views on sexualitty. Mr.McNally was the only teacher that freely explained his students about classifying gender. However, he continue to joke about another student physical appearance looking too feminine. His interactions with the student vary but it created an environment where students were able to create their own definition of themselves.  Furthermore, the comments teachers made based on their experiences in the dances showed how they somehow allowed the students to dance how they wanted. But before the dance students were given the dance rules. Limitations were constantly made by the teachers but students always behaved expressing their own identity. There are various environment by which gender is defined based on each individual own persperctive.

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