Gender Play: Girls and Boys in SchoolYou see it in every schoolyard: the girls play only with the girls, the boys play only with the boys. Why? And what do the kids think about this? Breaking with familiar conventions for thinking about children and gender, Gender Play develops fresh insights into the everyday social worlds of kids in elementary schools in the United States. Barrie Thorne draws on her daily observations in the classroom and on the playground to show how children construct and experience gender in school. With rich detail, she looks at the "play of gender" in the organization of groups of kids and activities - activities such as "chase-and-kiss," "cooties," "goin' with" and teasing. Thorne observes children in schools in working-class communities, emphasizing the experiences of fourth and fifth graders. Most of the children she observed were white, but a sizable minority were Latino, Chicano, or African American. Thorne argues that the organization and meaning of gender are influenced by age, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and social class, and that they shift with social context. She sees gender identity not through the lens of individual socialization or difference, but rather as a social process involving groups of children. Thorne takes us on a fascinating journey of discovery, provides new insights about children, and offers teachers practical suggestions for increasing cooperative mixed-gender interaction. |
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activities adolescence adult African-American aides Angela McRobbie Ashton School asked Barrie Thorne Barry Glassner behavior borderwork boundaries boys and girls Brian chapter child childhood complex Connell context contrast cooties cross-gender chasing culture different-cultures dodgeball elementary school ethnicity ethnographers ethnography example experiences female femininity feminist fifth-grade fourth-grade friends friendship Gary Alan Fine gender difference gender relations gender separation girls and boys grade groups of boys groups of girls handball heterosexual individual insults interaction Jacklin Jessie Judy jump rope junior high Kathryn kickball kids kindergarten labeled lunchroom male masculinity meanings menstruation Miss Bailey Miss Bailey's classroom mixed-gender moved Nancy observed Oceanside Oceanside playground patterns Peer physical preschool race rituals same-gender groups Sex Differences sex segregation Sexism sexual sissy sixth-grade soccer social class social relations sometimes stereotypes talk teachers team handball team sports teasing teen tion told tomboy Tracy women Zella Luria