ERIC Number: EJ1280587
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0954-0253
EISSN: N/A
Cupcakes and Beefcakes: Students' Readings of Gender in Superhero Texts
Dallacqua, Ashley K.; Low, David E.
Gender and Education, v33 n1 p68-85 2021
Given the growing interest and representation of superheroes in comics and other media, we are interested in the ways young people read superhero texts and how those readings influence their conceptualisations of gender within and outside educational spaces. In this article we explore students' responses to (re)presentations of gender in superhero texts (which include graphic novels, comic books, films, YouTube, and more), and examine how they reproduce and/or challenge assumptions about gender identity. This ethnographic study focuses on six seventh-graders across a school year in the United States. Our findings suggest that (1) students employ superhero texts as a multimedia resource for inquiring into gender, (2) superhero texts contribute to students' complex and evolving understandings of gender, and (3) students both critique and reify gender ideologies that are surfaced through their transactions with comics and related media.
Descriptors: Cartoons, Novels, Gender Issues, Popular Culture, Social Attitudes, Sex Stereotypes, Critical Literacy, Masculinity, Femininity, LGBTQ People, Grade 7, Early Adolescents
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 7; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A