Presenter: Alexis Skaw
Co-Presenters: April Wheeler, Brent Koekkoek
Faculty Mentor: Julie Heffernan
Presentation Type: Poster 37
Primary Research Area: Humanities
Major: Education
As soon as a child is born in the United States, they are assigned a sex in the male/female gender binary and gender socialization automatically begins. For boys, this means they will be taught to be tough, strong and control their emotions in order to enact masculinity. While much of this socialization occurs in the child’s home, it is also strongly enforced throughout social institutions. Sometimes this socialization is explicitly taught while other times
the lessons are implicitly engrained into traditions and practices. Schools, as social institutions, contribute to student’s socialization regarding gender, race and class. Our focus is on how gender socialization of masculinity, which can intersect with race and class, affects boys at different stages of their development. Hyper-masculinity, the exaggeration of masculinity which emphasizes aggressive and impulsive behavior, is associated with a breadth of emotional and physical ramifications. By pointing out the negative effects of hyper-masculinity, we hope to inspire teachers to enact pedagogy which encourages boys to explore non-gender conforming hobbies, sports, studies
and careers among other activities. By fostering an environment where students do not feel pressured to enact masculinity, boys will feel less burdened to become hyper-masculine and in turn, they can avoid situations which have negative effects on their mental and physical well-being.