(Un)Restricting feminism: High school students’ definitions of gender and feminism in the context of the historic struggle for women’s rights

ABSTRACT

There are multiple benefits to women’s history, including identifying women’s experiences as historically significant and recognizing the variety of perspectives of historical actors. Engaging students with resources on women’s history requires teachers to be prepared to deal with students’ misconceptions and feelings about gender and feminism. Using historic photographs from the second-wave feminist movement and a theoretical framework of Social Practice Theory, this naturalistic study addresses how 17 high school seniors defined and utilized gender and feminism in the context of the struggle for gender equity. Students were able to identify and describe various systems of power in nuanced and complex ways. The findings illustrate the impact that students’ gender identities and understandings of institutionalized oppression have on their historical analyses and suggest that teachers should consider students’ understandings about power when developing social studies curriculum and instruction that centers on critical gender equity.

KEYWORDS:

• Feminism
• gender
• historic photographs
• patriarchy
• women

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my teachers at Diana Prince High School for allowing me to work with my participants during their class time and my participants for being honest, vulnerable, and exceeding my expectations. I would also like to thank my former advisors, Drs. Kathy Swan and Linda Levstik, as your guidance and support on this project were integral to its success. Last, I would like to thank Emma Thacker for her eyes and edits on this manuscript and as always, her constant support.

Notes

1. The second-wave feminist movement, also referred to as the Women’s Liberation Movement, was a movement for women’s equality within U.S. society that occurred in the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement and the Gay Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

2. Pseudonyms have been used for all potentially identifying information.

3. The actual photographs could not be included in this article due to copyright concerns; however, readers interested in seeing the actual photographs can contact the author directly.

4. The standards of beauty and femininity discussed by participants represented an idea of beauty that was not only heterosexual, but also White. I acknowledge that these standards are not how all U.S. citizens define beauty and femininity, and they only further elucidate the role of historic systems of oppression and White supremacy.

5. Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and filmmaker whose self-portraits offer critiques of stereotypes surrounding gender and identity.

6. Kendall Jenner is an American model and television personality originally appearing on the show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

7. Because questions were asked within partners, not every participant chose to answer every question individually. Thus, only participants who individually responded to this particular question are represented here.

8. Emma Watson is an English actress and activist best known for her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter series. In 2014, she was appointed as the United Nations Women Goodwill ambassador.

9. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is an American singer and songwriter. She has publicly claimed to be a modern day feminist and has spoken out against inequalities based on gender identity, race, and sexualities.