Date of Award
2009
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Education
Program
Education
Supervisor
Dr. Wayne Martino
Abstract
This thesis examines youth’s engagement with gender fluidity or variance through their observations of gender expression. It draws on feminist, queer and transgender theories to highlight important issues about the impact of gender binaries and regulation of gender expression on youth in secondary schools. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to select a group of students interested in talking about gender variance in one secondary school in South Western Ontario. Data collection included focus group interviews, individual interviews, writing responses, and drawing responses. The research found that students ranged in their negotiations of gender binaries from resistance to acceptance. Students articulated their ideological position through a reflection on stories about embodied gender and gender regulatory practices. The research contributes to a necessary ongoing discourse about gender variance in schools. It encourages student voice and asks for educational policy to include a competency about gender variance.
Recommended Citation
Ingrey, Jennifer Catherine, "Gender Fluidity and Youth: Examining the Space In Between" (2009). Digitized Theses. 4103.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4103