Article Title
"A boy told me I was ugly." Voices of At Risk Adolescent Girls on Gender Identity and Dating Roles
Document Type
Article
Type of Article
Research-based article
Abstract
Through an exploration of urban middle school girls’ Discourse, this study sought to investigate how at risk females defined their gendered identity. Based on an analysis of spoken and written Discourse in a Third Space writing group, we discovered that at risk girls’ notions of patriarchal dating roles, which were predicated upon ideas of physical attractiveness and “datability,” drove much of their perspectives about gender. This study reveals girls’ strong desire to conform and adhere to dating roles with boys despite their depiction of relationships as tumultuous, necessary, exciting, and inevitably painful. Implications for educators pertain to the importance of using Discourse as a tool to help understand and define gender struggles for at risk adolescent girls and the need for pedagogy that would encourage girls to safely work through the invisible constraints of gender.
ScholarWorks Citation
Lesley, Mellinee Ph.D. and Kelley, Heather M. Ph.D.
(2015)
""A boy told me I was ugly." Voices of At Risk Adolescent Girls on Gender Identity and Dating Roles,"
MLET: The Journal of Middle Level Education in Texas: Vol. 2
:
Iss.
1
, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/mlet/vol2/iss1/2
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons
Tell us how this article helped you.