Becoming a woman: the construction of female subjectivities and its relationship with school

Abstract

In this article we analyse the construction processes of female subjectivities by studying the self‐descriptions that various young women give about their own image, their satisfactions and dissatisfactions and their project for life. A conclusion is drawn that the construction of these female identities cannot be separated from the discursive practices in which they are immersed, by virtue of being from an underprivileged social class, belonging to a minority ethnic‐cultural group, or to a disabled group. We can fully appreciate that the hegemonic model of femininity is both accepted and questioned by the girls in a non‐linear way. On the other hand, schools, as reference institutions for the youngest generations, must check to see what extent their teaching practices nurture these processes or not. This work forms part of a more extensive ongoing research project started a number of years ago by two Spanish universities (Cantabria and Seville).

Keywords:

• social exclusion
• education
• feminine subjectivities
• biographical‐narrative methods

Notes

1. To explore these techniques further, see Domingo and Fernández (1999) and Bolívar, Domingo, and Fernández (1997, 2001).

2. As is usual in this type of research, and with the aim to maintain the confidentiality of the data, the names that appear are fictitious.

3. It is important also to stress how the increase in the welfare standards of certain social groups in the capitalist sphere is producing ever‐greater male consumption of products and services aimed at maintaining a physical and aesthetic image. A simple look at advertising now, compared with that present three years ago, would undoubtedly produce relevant data.