High School Students’ Views on Gender Roles in Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico)
Brugeilles, Carole
High School Students’ Views on Gender Roles in Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico) - 2012.
84
Increasingly resorting to a gender perspective to explain socio-demographic behaviours has given the analysis of the social construction of male and female in a relational approach a new impetus. However, in spite of numerous studies, research on male identities and on how they view female identities still seems to lag behind. This exploratory research aims at contributing to this knowledge by focusing on the representations of the sexed roles of adolescent high-school pupils in Tijuana, Baja California, in Mexico. It is based on a survey of 1057 high school boys in Tijuana. The plurality of the representations of sexed identities is obvious, and noticeably progressive positions do not dominate. A majority of teenagers are not clearly free from stereotypes relating to intellectual abilities, and seem to adhere to an “essentialisation” of the differences, “naturally” leading to specific sexed roles. Attachment to the traditional male identity is particularly marked. Researching the factors that influence opinions highlights the complexity of the processes of change, where school seems to be a particularly important lever.
High School Students’ Views on Gender Roles in Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico) - 2012.
84
Increasingly resorting to a gender perspective to explain socio-demographic behaviours has given the analysis of the social construction of male and female in a relational approach a new impetus. However, in spite of numerous studies, research on male identities and on how they view female identities still seems to lag behind. This exploratory research aims at contributing to this knowledge by focusing on the representations of the sexed roles of adolescent high-school pupils in Tijuana, Baja California, in Mexico. It is based on a survey of 1057 high school boys in Tijuana. The plurality of the representations of sexed identities is obvious, and noticeably progressive positions do not dominate. A majority of teenagers are not clearly free from stereotypes relating to intellectual abilities, and seem to adhere to an “essentialisation” of the differences, “naturally” leading to specific sexed roles. Attachment to the traditional male identity is particularly marked. Researching the factors that influence opinions highlights the complexity of the processes of change, where school seems to be a particularly important lever.
Réseaux sociaux