In Australian culture, males dominate sports such as football, cricket and Australian Rules Football. Girls and women in such sports are frequently required to negotiate persistent gender constructs and stereotypes. Despite this, in recent years there has been an increase in girls' participation in sports that are constructed as masculine. The…

The fields of science and literacy education continue to be shaped by pervasive gender inequality. Previous research has documented how the formation of a 'science identity' is contingent on access to science capital while research in literacy education continues to highlight how boys struggle in their literacy acquisition. Despite a robust…

A sense of belonging is an important factor for the persistence of girls in the study of physics. Content and imagery that presents the field as a masculine domain will undermine belonging and make it more difficult for girls to establish a physics identity that is congruent with their gender identity. The physics syllabus, final examinations and…

This cross-national study aimed to examine gender bias and stereotypes in Australian, Singaporean and Turkish elementary mathematics textbooks. Content analysis approach was used to provide descriptive statistics about the number of male/female and gender-neutral characters in the textbooks. Findings indicated that total frequencies in textbook…

Despite explicit focus on addressing gender inequality in educational settings in Australia, without challenging gender binarism, inequality will persist. This article demonstrates the everyday and implicit means through which hierarchical gender binaries continue to be perpetuated. Observational fieldwork undertaken in three Australian early…

This article focuses on the perceptions of masculinity amongst male participants in choral singing, drawing on data that form part of a larger project where the overarching aim was to explore how these perceptions influenced male participation in choir. Masculinity was considered in terms of the stereotypes associated with being a male singing in…

Often certain types of toys are considered more appropriate either for boys or for girls to play with. Therapists often use toys to engage children in intervention activities to promote skill development. This study investigated the gender stereotype perspectives of children's toys held by adults who were and were not parents. Fifty-two…

Exploring the diverse nature of students' interpretations of their reading experiences, this study moves beyond broad generalizations about boys and girls to consider complexities inherent in the social processes that influence students' engagement in reading. While the study aimed to develop understandings about the ways notions of masculinity…

Analyzed clients' (N=210) questionnaires rating willingness to see and disclose to androgynous, masculine, or feminine therapist on basis of written description. Clients rated androgynous- and masculine-oriented therapists significantly more favorably than feminine-oriented therapists. Masculine men received highest ratings and feminine men…

This article explores the performance of masculinity(ies) within the classroom site. Drawing upon research conducted in two co-educational secondary classrooms, it examines the ways in which two groups of boys took up positions of dominance within their respective classrooms and, more specifically, focuses upon the ways in which they came to…

Presents a narrative of one man's experiences as an early childhood worker. Offers reflections from feminist and pro-feminist critical perspectives on the reactions and incidents he encountered. Explores tensions between risks and rewards, perceptions of power and powerlessness, and personal and political contexts. The tensions highlight the…

This paper draws on Matthew's story to illustrate the conflicting discourses of being a boy and being a student. Matthew is 12 years old and in Grade Six, his final year at Banrock Primary (a K-6 Australian State School). School is far from a happy place for Matthew--his tearful accounts of his combative relationships with his peers and his…

Studies of physical education teacher training have already established that hegemonic forms of masculinity are reinforced and reproduced both in the hidden curriculum (Flintoff, 1997) and the informal student culture (Skelton, 1993). Given this, an important feminist concern is whether male PE teachers whose own masculine identities are anchored…

Measures of multidimensional self-concepts (Self Description Questionnaire III), masculinity (M), and femininity (F) (Australian Sex Role Scale) were completed by high school women athletes and nonathletes, and by young adult women athletes and nonathletes. Women athletes in both age groups had substantially higher scores in masculinity and…

Presents a study of language, attitudes, and change in masculinity in two groups of Australian men. Claims that schools act as agents in constructing gender definitions. Cites a report finding that gender stereotypes abound in textbooks; career counseling; and teacher expectations. Argues that males are advantaged by this and will resist change.…