‘You must be thinking what a lesbian man teacher is doing in a nice place like Dipane Letsie School?’: enacting, negotiating and reproducing dominant understandings of gender in a rural school in the Free State, South Africa

Francis, Dennis

doi:10.1080/09540253.2014.947246

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Results show that teachers are not trained to teach about sexuality and gender diversity and are, in many cases, unwilling to teach these critical issues (DePalma & Francis, 2014;D. Francis, 2014).…”

Section: Positively Reacting To the Teaching And Learning Of The "Quementioning

confidence: 99%

South African School Youth in Favour of the Teaching and Learning of “Queerness” and about the "Other"–A Contrast to Current literature

Nichols¹

2021

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Gender and Sexuality

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Heteronormativity and heterosexism are pervasive in the South African society where much of the Queer youth face several challenges in South African schools: hurtful name-calling, being disregarded, denigrated, and discriminated against, which often develops into physical and verbal forms of violence. South African Policy and Legislation varying from the country's Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the South African Schools Act (SASA), and Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), affirm sexual orientation and gender as grounds for non-discrimination on equality. Nevertheless, even with these progressive policies and legislations, South African schools remain heteronormative and heterosexist spaces. A qualitative method, a case study methodology was adopted, and data was collected employing semi-structured interviews. A number of eleven grade ten high school youth participated in this study. Some of the key findings revealed that: Education around issues of sexuality and gender diversity are not realising in schools, even though included in the Life Orientation (LO) Curriculum and prescribed textbooks. Some of the critical reasons for this are the lack of knowledge and ignorance of the school and teachers about sexual and gender diversity. Surprisingly, this study finds that the youth (regardless of their sexuality) wish to learn about sexuality and gender diversity and that the lack of the teaching thereof lies with the teachers. The main result reveals numerous reasons to why these learners "want" to learn about the other and acknowledge their privileges compared to their heterosexual peers. One of the recommendations of this study is to look at in-and pre-service teacher education. Secondly, a space for critical discussion about sexual diversity (and the other) should be created in schools where the learners' voices can be heard.

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Section: Positively Reacting To the Teaching And Learning Of The "Quementioning

confidence: 99%

South African School Youth in Favour of the Teaching and Learning of “Queerness” and about the "Other"–A Contrast to Current literature

Nichols¹

2021

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Gender and Sexuality

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“…Studies have also explored the lives of transgender people and how they navigate coming out (Van der Wal 2016), transgender identity work (Monakali 2017), transgender masculinity (Francis 2014), and the experiences of transgender refugees in South Africa (Camminga 2019). Though this body of work is small, these studies draw attention to the complexity of navigating livable transgender subjectivities in South Africa, the influence of culture and religion on transgender people’s decision to come out publicly, and transphobia (Francis 2014; Monakali 2017; Van der Wal 2016). In his life history study of how a rural transgender man in South Africa “enacts, negotiates, resists and reproduces dominant understandings of gender and sexuality,” Francis (2014, 554) found that “masculine essentialism” is misleading.…”

Section: Contextualizing Trans Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though this body of work is small, these studies draw attention to the complexity of navigating livable transgender subjectivities in South Africa, the influence of culture and religion on transgender people’s decision to come out publicly, and transphobia (Francis 2014; Monakali 2017; Van der Wal 2016). In his life history study of how a rural transgender man in South Africa “enacts, negotiates, resists and reproduces dominant understandings of gender and sexuality,” Francis (2014, 554) found that “masculine essentialism” is misleading. In documenting the strategic navigation of masculine subject positions, Francis (2014, 547) underscores the fluidity of masculine embodiment and how it is tied to a transgender man’s navigation of gender in ways that grant him “recognition as a man.”…”

Section: Contextualizing Trans Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In his life history study of how a rural transgender man in South Africa “enacts, negotiates, resists and reproduces dominant understandings of gender and sexuality,” Francis (2014, 554) found that “masculine essentialism” is misleading. In documenting the strategic navigation of masculine subject positions, Francis (2014, 547) underscores the fluidity of masculine embodiment and how it is tied to a transgender man’s navigation of gender in ways that grant him “recognition as a man.”…”

Section: Contextualizing Trans Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“I Get Fire Inside Me That Tells Me I’m Going to Defy.”: The Discursive Construction of Trans Masculinity in Cape Town, South Africa

Monakali

Francis

2020

Men and Masculinities

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This research extends our understanding of trans masculinity in South Africa. Drawing on in-depth interviews with seven trans masculine-identified individuals, we analyze the discourses that trans masculine individuals draw on to make sense of their experiences of gender and their embodiment and performance of masculinity. There are three key findings. First, we found that trans masculine people deploy competing discourses of gender to make sense of their gender performativity. Second, participants drew on discourses of sexism, genderism, and transphobia to illustrate the complexity of constructing counter-normative masculine subject positions. Finally, while trans masculine individuals discursively positioned their masculinities as caring, their constructions of masculinity simultaneously contained complicity with dominant discourses about hegemonic masculinity. The findings highlight the diversity and complexity of masculine subject positions taken up by trans masculine individuals.

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“…Skelton, 1994)—sometimes at odds with the messages of the formal curriculum—(Mirembe & Davies, 2001), how individuals “take up” or negotiate masculinities in varied contexts (E. Anderson, 2011; Benjamin, 2001; Davies, 1997; D. Francis, 2014; Heward, 1994), and how acts such as alcohol use (Dempster, 2011) and sexual harassment and abuse (Robinson, 2005; C.…”

Section: Turns and Transformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and Education

Bailey

Graves

2016

Review of Research in Education

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The authors describe broad patterns and key developments in gender and education scholarship to provide an overview of the state of the field. They incorporate historical developments shaping research patterns, broad tensions and shifts, and emerging trajectories in inquiry. Cognizant that reviews are inherently political endeavors in both reflecting—and creating—“the field,” the authors suggest that reviews such as this one are inevitably partial and political, even as they provide useful insights into scholarly trends. The dynamic body of work that constitutes what the authors refer to as “gender and education” scholarship (writ large) encompasses diverse inquiries, theoretical investments, sites of analysis, and conceptions of gender that go beyond a straightforward reporting of women’s and girls’ gradual progress over time in accessing education. The authors argue that gender remains a central force in organizing social relations and educational processes with an array of implications for lived experience that merit sustained scrutiny.

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‘You must be thinking what a lesbian man teacher is doing in a nice place like Dipane Letsie School?’: enacting, negotiating and reproducing dominant understandings of gender in a rural school in the Free State, South Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 29 publications

South African School Youth in Favour of the Teaching and Learning of “Queerness” and about the "Other"–A Contrast to Current literature

South African School Youth in Favour of the Teaching and Learning of “Queerness” and about the "Other"–A Contrast to Current literature

“I Get Fire Inside Me That Tells Me I’m Going to Defy.”: The Discursive Construction of Trans Masculinity in Cape Town, South Africa

Gender and Education

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