‘Wild’ girls? An exploration of ‘ladette’ cultures in secondary schools

Abstract

‘Laddish’ attitudes and behaviours are central to current discourses on boys’ ‘underachievement’, as they are seen by many people to impede the progress of some boys in school. Whilst the vast majority of concern about ‘laddishness’ has, to date, focused upon boys, according to media reports there are now good reasons to worry about girls. Anecdotes from teachers and reports in the media suggest that some schoolgirls are now acting ‘laddishly’, that they are ‘ladettes’. This paper explores ‘ladette’ cultures in secondary schools, drawing upon interview data from100 pupils and 30 teachers. It tackles and discusses the following questions: (a) What does the term ‘ladette’ mean to pupils and teachers? (b) Do school‐aged ‘ladettes’ ‘exist’—and if so, what are they like inside and outside of school? (c) In what ways are ‘ladettes’ similar to, and different from, ‘lads’? (d) Are teachers concerned about ‘ladettes’? (e) Are ‘ladette’ behaviours on the increase?

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Research Fellowship Award (RES‐000‐27‐0041). Thanks to all the teachers and pupils involved in this project, and to Alice Jesmont and Sheena Archibald for transcribing all the interviews. I’d also like to thank Penny Tinkler, Heather Mendick and the two anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this work.

Notes

1. Whilst this was the case at the time of writing, my recent book (Jackson, 2006) now also contributes to this sphere.

2. Overall, the project addressed four main research questions: (a) In what ways does ‘laddish’ behaviour act to protect self‐worth? (b) How can schools and teachers reduce ‘laddish’, anti‐school attitudes? (c) Are some girls adopting ‘laddish’ behaviours, if so, why? (d) Are some groups of girls and boys more likely than other groups to adopt ‘laddish’ behaviours, if so, which groups, why and with what effects?

3. As far as possible I wanted to explore pupils’ own perceptions of what ‘ladettes’ might be like before discussing how they are represented in the media. Where pupils interpreted ‘ladette’ to mean ‘tomboy’ I usually explored this with them and then went on to discuss ‘ladettes’ as portrayed in the media. It is worth noting though that media portrayals vary, and on occasion refer to ‘ladettes’ as tomboys.

4. The girls who identified as ‘ladettes’ had not necessarily heard the term prior to the interview. However, they identified with the pattern of behaviours that we talked about as being typical ‘ladette’ behaviours according to media definitions.

5. Historically constructed patterns of power relations between men and women and definitions of masculinity and femininity (Connell, 1987, pp. 98–99).

6. Government guidelines define binge drinking as eight units of alcohol for men and six units for women consumed in one session (Department of Health, 2004). However, as Williamson et al. (2003) point out, definitions of binge drinking are often inconsistent, if not altogether absent (p. 234).

7. Some feminists may regard girls’ and women’s increased access to public space as a positive shift. However, there is a note of caution here. Sweeting and West (2003) observed a parallel decrease in 15‐year‐old boys’ use of public space, arguing that they are increasingly spending time at home playing on computers and watching sports matches. McNamee’s (1998) research suggests that boys are now controlling domestic space, and policing their sisters’ access to computers. So it may be the case that some girls are being pushed out of the home by their brothers.