From my observations, one of the most striking examples of gender identity in Jaclyn’s class is exhibited through how students arrange themselves.  The boys in the class tend to sit and work with boys, and girls sort themselves to sit and work with girls.  Since these seating arrangements haven’t changed at all in the time which I’ve observed the class, I want to ask Jaclyn in our next class about whether or not she purposefully picked out this layout, or whether the students chose on their own and enforce this arrangement.

First, I want to acknowledge that of course gender isn’t so cut and dry as “girl” and “boy.”  There are many students in this class who don’t follow the patterns of either, but it is still fascinating to see general trends of gender identity formation in this developmental stage through the vehicle of peer approval.

As an observer, I can see how gender identity and roles are reinforced in the students by the way the students uphold the distinction between “girl” and “boy.”  within friend groups.  By having an “opposite,” they reinforce what it means to be a “girl” or a “boy.”  There appears to be some resistance between the “boy” groups and the “girl” groups to each other — little moments of resistance or teasing that seem to help reinforce the boundaries between gender identity.  I believe this “us and them” mentality exists because it gives students the ability to take on an identity which will win them social approval and a place within friend groups.  The group of boys in camouflage jackets or baseball hats are a bit rowdy when together, and aren’t afraid to make teasing remarks at the girls.

Many of the girls dress in trendy fashion and impeccable hairstyles.  The “girl” groups are a bit less provocative to their peers when it comes to cross-table teasing.  However, they are a bit louder, and more likely to engage with the material openly where others can clearly hear them.  The boy groups often work quietly or by themselves, not drawing attention to themselves.  I wonder if there is social capital for the boys that is tied to caring about class work — and whether “boys” are supposed to find this thing frivolous.  The girls as a whole don’t seem to have this same stipulation when it comes to group work, but they are much less engaged when it comes to answering questions during lectures.

Still, there are others in what I’ve admittedly registered as “girl” groups who seem to sidestep conventions — and their peers’ willingness to openly participate.  There are a few female-identifying-students who dress in more casual t-shirts and hoodies, and for one particular student, very goth fashion.  These students are often the quietest during group work, those who are more likely to engage with their iPads than their peers.  However, there is a particular girl who doesn’t appear to care much about style and fashion, but who is also one of the students who most reliably engages with class lectures; she doesn’t talk as much with her peers than she does with the lesson.  She seems to be somewhat outcast, possibly for challenging the “rules” of the gender divide.  It makes sense why students in the more clear cut “boy” and “girl” groups might be off-put by her when I think about identity formation: she challenges the divide between the two predominant groups, the distinction which justifies their behaviors, gives meaning to their seating arrangements, and determines how they engage with their education.

Even the co-ed groups function in ways that seem to fortify their respective identities.  When a table composed by the camo boys and the fashion-minded girls interacts for group work, they are often teasing each other.  Neither of the groups appears hurt by these interactions, but emboldened to stand their ground when a member of the other gender says they’re frivolous or stupid for whatever reason.

There some boys in the class who challenge binary gender roles, but they seem to be less socially outcast than their female-identifying counterparts.  For example, there are a couple boys who wear nail polish and get along with other male peers.  This was refreshing to see after passing between two boys in the parking lot who were yelling that the other was “gay” for so and so reason.  Still, there seems to be a social distinction between the more stereotypically masculine students and these boys.  Of the two who wear nail polish, one sits at a table with mostly girls, and neither sits at either of the tables predominated by the camouflage-wearing boys.  One of them is the student who flags me down for questions more than any other student; this goes against that other masculine trend which I’ve noticed in class in that boys seem to be discouraged to care about class material.