This thesis examines the intersection between masculinity and risk in educational settings. It draws on an intensive examination of the field of dance-education in Scotland and an extended period of research with YDance, Scotland’s only state-funded dance education company. Data was gleaned from a combination of qualitative and ethnographic methods including unstructured interviews, planned discussion groups and participant observation. The thesis synthesises the work of Ulrich Beck and with micro-level approaches popular in studies of gender and education through Bourdieu’s meso-level theories of society and social actors. It uses Bourdieu in new ways, both to reconcile these concerns of structure and action and to overcome key problems that have been identified with the work of authors like Butler and Connell. Substantively, the thesis draws attention to the risks which so-called ‘feminised’ activities like dance pose to young masculine identities and the role played by schools in reproducing and tacitly authorising inculcated assumptions about dance, gender and sexuality. The thesis also investigates the various ways in which dance educators attempt to challenge these reified associations and considers some of the unintended consequences of these practices. Despite ostensibly challenging gender stereotypes, many of the steps taken in order to engage boys in dance at school result in the reproduction of strong versions of masculinity and femininity. In attempting to recode dance as a ‘acceptable’ activity for young men, dance educators often disavow the contribution of gay and effeminate men to the art form, downplay the merits of genres like ballet which is perceived to carry particularly strong associations of femininity and homosexuality, and engage – albeit subtly – in misogyny and homophobia. Dance educators are often therefore unintentional agents of the reproduction of inculcated masculinities and gender inequality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:509190 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Morrissey, Sean Afnán |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=59614 |
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