Essay Sample about Gender and Nationalism

The factors of gender differences in cultural participation and bully victimization can be analysed using the ideas of gender and nationalism. This section aims to analyse the study by Lehman and Dumais (2017) by introducing the perspectives of gender and nationalism. Especially, this essay shall analyse this study results from four perspectives: the feature of the school itself; the reasons why male students avoid ‘feminine’ activities; the factors of masculinized female students; and whether masculinized female students decrease bullying and gender inequalities or not. 

Firstly, it may be efficient to consider the features of the school itself based on the conceptualization of gender and nationalism by Walby. Based on the two distinctions, high school could be regarded as a public space that features women’s subordinated position (Walby, 2000). According to the tendency of boys’ educational underachievement and blame for women (Francis, 1999), schools can be described as male-dominating institutions. This also can be interpreted that schools are a small version of nations. In terms of this, Ryan (2005) claims that American society is indicated by comprehensive public high schooling and the country is in the central part. Thus, high schools may have features of nations that include hierarchical authority structures and male-dominated decision-making. Therefore, it can be recognized that masculine cultural capital might be important to survive in the school as the masculine image is dominating in ‘the small nation’. 

Secondly, the reasons why male students tend to avoid arts participation and EC activities might be found in the context of masculinity and nationalism. Their fears of looking feminine might be the same in the nationalism context. The masculinity that students try to follow might be included in the features that were defined as normative masculinity by Moose. Therefore, it might lead to finding some factors of bully victimization in nationalism. Thus, if the emphasis on masculinity within the nation is strong and hegemonic, it might not be easy to solve bully issues in high schools as the students may be affected by the hegemonic masculinity that is forced by nations. Furthermore, the fear of being accused of cowardice is linked to patriotism, nationalism, or militarism by men as well as male adventurous actions (Nagel, 1998). For instance, the motive of their participation in wars is often derived from a sense of anticipation, excitement, joining the adventure, and desire not to be left behind from the adventure of war (Ibid). From this perspective, male students who do not attend activities that are not linked to masculine images might have the same logic. Thus, as they are afraid of being criticized as cowards, and adventurous actions are expected from peer students, they might avoid non-masculine activities. On the other hand, the avoidance of ‘feminine’ activities might be described as the metaphor of subordinated female positions in the nations. It might also be related to the excluded positions of sexual minorities as they may not be regarded as having normative masculinities.  Masculinized heteronormativity tends to be homophobic and not to accept sexual diversity, especially homosexuality (Nagel, 2003). Sexual diversity is also regarded as non-patriotic and threats to sustaining and reproducing the nation (Hayes and Nagle, 2016).  

Thirdly, the shift of masculinization of female students might be understood by using the nature of legitimacy of cultural capital and masculinity . In general, women more tend to enjoy traditional high culture (Lizardo, 2005). However, because masculinity is robust and dominating in the nation, masculine cultural capital legitimated by its power and dominance might be hegemonic at the school level. Dumais (2002) argues that the lack of cultural activities by male students is caused by traditional gender stereotypes while female students might be more recommended to use their cultural capital for educational success in school. However, Klein (2012) explains that students are forced to pressure of surveillance under ‘gender police’ that most students belong to and correct gender performance based on perceived expectations of gender norms each other. Under this situation, female students are also becoming aggressive, competitive, and masculinized today as hypermasculinity is the dominant gender norm in schools (Klein, 2012).

Finally, whether the increase in masculinized female students leads to a decrease in bullying and gender inequality will be discussed. According to the nationalism context, female participation in the war did not weaken masculinity such as in the military field (Nagel, 2017). Rather than that, women’s participation in the military field just shows that it is impossible for women to be men when they join in the masculine space (Ibid.). It also showed that women’s participation did not affect masculine cultures and practices (Ibid.). It should also be noted that an increase in the number of women in paid employment and the decrease in traditional family form does not mean the end of the patriarchal structure (Walby, 2000). This implies that strengthening of masculinity by female students might just lead to reinforcing masculinity in high schools and it may not decrease bully victimization of students who join non-masculine activities. Accordingly, solving the emphasis on masculinity might be one solution to decrease bullying itself and correlations between bullying and participation in not-masculine art activities. Furthermore, the masculinization of female students may not also lead to decreasing gender inequalities within schools. This is because women are forced to subordinated positions within nations even if they are included in the public domain. Thus, because actions that are tied to femininity are in the subordinate positions as art activities, the gender inequalities might just continue in the male-dominated and female-subordinated structure. Therefore, female masculinization might just reinforce masculinity and may not solve gender inequality. 

Therefore, it might be beneficial to search for the reasons for the bully and gender inequalities in US high schools within nationalism that is the other side of the same coin with masculinity. Thus, the factors of reducing bullying and solving gender inequalities might be found in gender and nationalism. Reviewing the hegemonic masculinity in the US might be the key to finding solutions to decrease the amount of bully and solving gender inequality in high school.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this essay focused on the factors of bully victimization and gender inequality in cultural participation in U.S. high schools, by using the idea of gender and nationalism. Especially, by focusing on the male and female positions in the nations and masculinity, this essay analysed one study from four different perspectives. Furthermore, this essay concludes that the factors may derive from larger social structure: nations, as nations have fundamentally masculine structures and masculinity dominates from the private level to the public level. Therefore, by considering the impacts of macro-level structure that are emphasised by nationalism into individual’s cultural participation in high school, the key to decreasing bullying and overcoming gender inequality in high school might be found. Furthermore, this focus will also contribute to the studies of relationships between cultural capital and gender and nationalism.