Practicing Gender: A Feminist Ethnography of an All Girls' After-School Club

• Main Author: Happel, Alison A
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Archive @ GSU 2012
• Subjects: ethnography; feminism; girls' studies; critical theory; poststructuralism; qualitative research; Education; Education Policy
• Online Access: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/eps_diss/91; http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=eps_diss

The institution of schooling is one of the most formative spaces in which young people learn about gender norms and expectations. Rather than being a biological given, gender identity is achieved through gender practices and gender achievements (Butler, 1990/1999; Nayak & Kehily, 2008). This study was a year-long ethnography during which I observed an all girls’ after-school club. The club included 15 girls who were in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. The majority of the club’s participants were African American girls. This ethnography utilized participant observation and interviews. Club documents were also analyzed during data analysis. My primary research question was: How was girlness conceptualized, perpetuated, and performed in an after-school club for middle school girls? Using critical theory and feminist poststructuralism, I investigated the work that goes into creating and maintaining current binary gender formations, and how this is related to race, class, and sexuality.