Note: The homophobic slur in the book’s title is used in a very particular and deliberate way in this book. Trigger warnings for anyone that term disturbs; the review will better explain its usage.
This book examines the way gendered and sexualized identifications and the institutional ordering of these identifications in a California high school both reinforce and challenge inequality among students.”
Defining masculinity as mastery builds on the definitions of masculinity…in which boys make it clear that the most un-masculine position is a fag position, in which a boy is weak, penetrated, and lacking in mastery over his and others’ bodies.
Dude You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School is a study of how masculinity is constructed, enacted, and shapes the experiences of both boys and girls in a high school setting. Pascoe does her fieldwork at River High School, a Northern California school, where she mixes with students inside and outside the classroom. While she tells the students she is there to interview the boys, she spends a lot of times with the girls as well, who range from traditional feminine presentation to those who take on features of masculinity and enact power in different ways.
Pascoe does a deep dive into how masculinity is made during adolescence, examining the intersections of power, language, behaviors and the reinforcement of gender norms through group interaction. Pascoe observes the boys of River High “doing” masculinity in various ways, and how boys often engage in the “fag discourse” to reinforce their own masculinity, gatekeep who is and is not dominant and powerful (key aspects of heteronormative masculinity), and parody homosexuality as a way to both bond and socially control masculinity.
Sexuality features heavily in how masculinity is “done.” Boys position in the hierarchy is dependent on how they reinforce their straight masculinity by “getting girls” and dominating girls’ bodies in a variety of ways. Pascoe observed crude conversations among boys about dominating girls sexually (one term used is “tearing their walls”). They also constantly and even aggressively touched girls, many of whom responded by giggling and telling them to stop in ways that didn’t challenge the status quo. Power, dominance, and sexuality define masculinity, and boys frequently used the term “fag” to shame other boys for their lack of agency, sexual power, and embodiment of heterosexual norms. Homophobia was rampant, and Pascoe observed behaviors that often bordered on violence, both among boys and as inflicted on girls.
Pascoe carefully examines different girl groups and how they appropriate or challenge masculinity norms. The Basketball Girls are a riotous, popular group of girls who play sports, dress in baggy, masculine clothing (closely associated with hip hop) and don’t shirk from fighting or establishing dominance when necessary. They transgress gender norms but are not ostracized for doing so (unlike a boy named Ricky who is harassed so severely by the other boys that he drops out of school). They often appropriate male language to reinforce their dominant position, using expressions like “girls are on my jock” to show their power. While many of the girls who transgress norms are gay or gender fluid, they mix easily with traditionally feminine gay girls who they sometimes date. There is a masculine-feminine power dynamic that exists among these girls, but without the violence or homophobia.
Another girl group are those who participate in the Gay-Straight Alliance. Of all the students Pascoe interacts with, the GSA girls most make the connections between gender and sexual identity, sexism, homophobia, and social equality. Their activities involve meetings, events, and actions that challenge the heterosexual hegemony. They are more subject to harassment and less popular among students, and are also rarely overtly supported by teachers and administration, who often reinforce heteronormativity deliberately or through ignoring the many destructive behaviors that boys use to dominate girls. The GSA girls often dress in gender fluid ways, but they do not as frequently use masculine traits to establish any kind of dominance. The GSA also incorporates gay boys whose position in the hierarchy is defined by the way they do gender.
Pascoe addresses ways that heteronormative, homophobic, sexist definitions of masculinity can be combatted. Pascoe first notes:
This is not to say that youth at River [High] didn’t define masculinity as a description of boys’ attitudes, behaviors, and interactional styles. They did. But they also defined masculinity as a publicly enacted interactional style that demonstrated heterosexuality and dominance while at the same time repudiating and mocking weakness, usually represented by femininity or the fag.”
Some of her suggestions emphasize legal protections, allowing differences in gender and sexuality to be part of heteronormative rituals that can be heterosexist, homophobic, and sexist (prom, homecoming skits that disparage alternative gender expressions and reinforce heterosexist roles), keyed-in teachers and administrators, support for organizations like the GSA, and producing assemblies that feature gay, gender non-normative, and gender fluid speakers.
There is a very interesting appendix where Pascoe recounts her own experiences conducting this fieldwork, including times when she was sexualized and physically dominated. She talks about her approach to the interviews, trying to maintain a “least gendered” position, by adapting some masculine styles and behaviors, de-emphasizing her gender, and acting with confidence and setting boundaries in a way that did not alienate the boys, whom she still needed access to to complete her project.
All in all, this was an excellent examination of masculinity, gender, and sexuality. I learned a lot, while also feeling very discouraged about social change in this area. Even so, a very worthwhile read.
