Verbal abuse in school. Constructions of gender among 14‐ to 15‐year‐olds

Abstract

Verbal abuse has been identified as a common element in the life of children in school. This paper explores how this discursive practice is used in the construction of masculinities and femininities among children aged 14–15 through observations and interviews in classes in two schools in Stockholm. Verbal abuse, often with sexual content, contributed to ‘toughness’, a central component of hegemonic masculinity in the schools. Popular, tough boys generated most of the verbal abuse, but were not necessarily regarded as verbally abusive; rather, responsibility for the bulk of verbal abuse was attributed to ‘rowdy’ boys. Girls’ verbal abuse was not similarly advantageous for their femininity; instead, both through being verbally abusive and being the target of abuse, girls risked being positioned negatively. It appears that verbal abuse in school simultaneously orders masculinities and femininities, and structures heterosexual relations between the genders.

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to John Sjöström for valuable contributions to the analysis and to the participating students, teachers and schools. The study was financed in part by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS).

Notes

1. In Sweden, a great majority of students (94%) attend public‐sector schools close to their homes (Skolverket, 2004). The school system encompasses ten years of compulsory schooling, from age 6‐ to 16‐years‐old, followed by three years of high school studies.

2. Detailed information about data collection, ethical considerations, etc, can be obtained from the corresponding author.

3. In Swedish there is no collective verb for the act of being verbally aggressive, and in the interviews students often used the verb ‘to swear’ to be able to talk about it. Their usage reveals that it is not restricted to swear words, but has a more general meaning, encompassing terms of abuse and insults.

4. The word ‘fjortis’, derived from the Swedish numeral fjorton ‘fourteen’, is quite specific to Sweden. It refers to a girl who is brash, dumb and immature, and is related to being or acting like a 14‐year‐old rather than being older, which in turn is related to the age of 15 being treated as the age of sexual maturity in Sweden. It is most often used when talking about a girl, instead of to her.