Gender in the early years: Boys and girls in an African working class primary school

Vulnerable femininities: Implications for rural girls' schooling experiences in Swaziland

“…Femininities as economically reliant: Exposure to sexual abuse Despite common understanding that construes primary school children as sexually innocent (Bhana et al, 2011), heterosexuality in this study was at the centre of the girls' feminine constructions. The financially dependent feminine discourse, around which heterosexual relationships are organised, exposed the girls to violence and provided structural spaces for their oppression and domination, as the following data illustrates: The girls' socioeconomic status shaped their constructions and experiences of femininity, and poverty was the major factor influencing girls in these contexts to engage in heterosexual relationships (Selepe et al, 2017).…”

“…Schools, as social contexts, also construct girls' femininities in diverse ways. In South Africa, Bhana et al (2011) found that school processes give hegemony and control to boys whilst militating against the girls. In Swaziland, Fielding-Miller et al (2017) reported that schoolgirls are prone to sexual exploitation and abuse by older men and even by teachers who make sexual advances in return for cash-an offer that girls in vulnerable socioeconomic situations cannot decline even though the consequences (like pregnancy and HIV) are dire for them and also often spell an end to their educational aspirations and economic success later in life as adults.…”

“…It is within these dominant hierarchal ideologies and masculine structures that Swazi women and girls "coexist" with masculinities. Bhana et al (2011) provided insights into how gender inequities, founded in the wider community and family context, manifest in the schools; in most instances, schools' regimes replicate the hegemonic gender norms and beliefs of the wider society in which they are located. Connell and Messerschmidt (2005) found that in school contexts, as in the home, boys tend to be exalted in assumptions of power at the expense of downgrading girls to subservience.…”

“…Little is known about how vulnerable girls construct femininities, or about the effects of orphanage, child house-heading, and poverty on the social and academic wellbeing of girls. This is despite the body of literature (for instance, Bhana, Nzimakwe, & Nzimakwe, 2011;Maphanga & Morojele, 2016) pointing to these factors as key determinants of children's experiences of schoolingwith implications on whether or not children continue to attend school, the quality of education they receive, and their educational success in general.…”

Learners’ constructions of bullying in a South African school context

“…It is needless to overemphasise the currency of touching other learners' private parts as a sexually charged form of bullying, mainly perpetrated by boys against girls, as participant 1 indicated above. The roots of this are implicated in unequal gender relations between boys and girls, where girls' bodies are seen or used as objects for boys' gratification and amusement (Bhana, Nzimakwe & Nzimakwe 2011).…”