Choreographing gender: masculine domination and heteronormativity in physical education

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to highlight gender norms in physical education (PE) dance lessons, in order to analyse how secondary school students, both girls and boys, negotiate these norms. To do this, we used Bourdieu’s concept of masculine domination and Butler’s theory of heteronormativity. Video material was collected from eight Swedish secondary schools. This material was analysed qualitatively with the help of masculine domination and heteronormativity. We bring to light three relevant vignettes that illustrate gender norms during the dance lessons. The first vignette explains that, in most cases, girls choreograph and boys execute. Hence, this situation testifies the emergence of traditional and normative gendered positions between students, accordingly to their gender. Secondly, if the roles are reversed between girls and boys, suggesting that masculine domination is less prevalent during the dance lessons, we demonstrate that girls are still dominated because they teach boys how they should lead girls (at least so that it looks like they are leading). Finally, we observed that masculine domination can be considered a double oppression on boys and girls. There appears a co-construction of the students’ own submission because girls teach boys how these have to be masculine, meanwhile boys, victims of their own oppression, keep the position as followers in this feminine activity. In parallel, girls assign masculine and feminine positions according to the gender of the students and support, eventually, the reproduction of balance of power representing the heteronormativity of gendered norms. In conclusion, masculine domination seems, at first glance, to be challenged in PE dance lessons because girls have the dominant role. However, by keeping the balance of power between the gendered positions, they strengthen heteronorms, that is, a principal element of the emergence of masculine domination.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• gender
• masculine domination
• heteronormativity
• dance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).