Ten principles for action
Martin Mills, in Challenging Violence in Schools (2001:138-148),
offers ten basic principles for schools wanting to work with boys in a spirit
of gender equity. They include:
- Reject the 'competing victim' syndrome.
- Investigate boys' violence as a masculinity issue.
- Explore how masculinities operate within your school.
- Confront homophobia as a matter of priority.
- Explore boys' sense of powerlessness, without denying privilege.
- Encourage male teachers but don't exclude female teachers
from working with boys on gender and violence issues.
- Be informed about outside agencies before allowing them
to work with boys on gender issues.
- Don't rely on 'quick fix' programs.
- Work with boys shouldn't ignore inequalities and injustices
for girls.
- Don't be afraid of the 'f' word: feminism.
1. Reject the 'competing victim' syndrome
Don't fall for the 'boys versus girls' approach. It's not a competition and
boys are not all the same. Instead, ask 'Which boys?' and 'Which girls?' and
'How do other factors such as poverty and Indigeneity combine with gender
issues for some students?' Collect your school's participation and achievement
data and look at results according to other factors as well as gender. Survey
your students' post-school pathways and analyse them according to different
variables such as socioeconomic status or cultural and linguistic diversity.
Where gender differences do emerge (eg if boys are doing less well in reading
than girls from similar backgrounds) question how gendered behaviours might
be at work. Are some boys acting out their ideas of masculinity (eg 'girls
read; boys play sport') in ways that disengage them from schooling? Survey
student opinions of different school activities.
2. Investigate boys' violence as a masculinity issue
Don't assume that violence is part of boys' nature or that it's just an individual
problem. It does a disservice to all boys and men to accept or 'normalise'
violence this way. Most men reject violence and know that being a man does
not mean hurting others. The legitimacy of domination and violence, idealised
in many arenas as being 'real masculinity', needs to be challenged. Schools
can help by celebrating diverse non-violent masculinities, clearly naming
violence as injustice and oppression, and helping students investigate how
some ideas about masculinity may encourage violence. Popular culture is a
rich resource.
3. Explore how masculinities operate within your school
Some masculinities are honoured more than others at school. Compare the sporting
hero with the literary award winner, or the 'bully' with his 'victim'. What
pressures and costs, both physical and emotional, do boys (and men) face in
rejecting or conforming to dominant masculinity? How do issues of class and
race combine with masculine behaviours to paint some boys as 'threats to society'
and others as 'future leaders'? How do the 'silent majority' feel when they
witness but don't condemn violence?
4. Confront homophobia as a matter of priority
Many schools are reluctant to address homophobia, but the fear of being labelled
a 'poofter' or 'faggot' is very real in boys' lives. Many boys have said this
fear prevents them from talking about gender issues or speaking out against
harassment of girls or other boys. In this way, homophobia and other cultural
forces effectively police the boys' behaviour, ensuring that few will challenge
the abuse they witness, for fear of being targeted themselves. In this way
schools become threatening places for everyone, regardless of their sexuality.
Schools can help boys to challenge homophobia by doing so themselves, clearly
labelling it as sexual harassment and building strong anti-harassment policies
and procedures. Celebrating diversity helps too. All students deserve safety
at school. Too many students are made miserable or driven out of education
by homophobic harassment.
5. Explore boys' sense of powerlessness, without denying
privilege.
A 'backlash' has blamed feminism for the powerlessness felt by some men and
boys. But although men as a group have been privileged relative to women,
the benefits have always been unevenly spread. Many men are oppressed, not
because they are men, but in contexts where ethnicity, class, sexuality, age,
physical prowess and other factors impact. In working with boys, we can avoid
the politics of blame and encourage collective responsibility by reflecting
on times when we have stayed silent on issues of gender and violence because
we were too scared, intimidated or embarrassed to say anything. This approach
treats boys with respect, acknowledging how hard it is to 'step out of line'
on these issues.
6. Encourage male teachers but don't exclude female teachers
from working with boys on gender and violence issues.
It is arguable that men have a special responsibility to work with boys on
issues of gender and violence, but boys also need to hear the perspectives
of women and girls. The efforts of men and women to create a more gender-just
world are inextricably linked and are likely to be most effective when they
are working cooperatively in schools.
7. Be informed about outside agencies before allowing them
to work with boys on gender issues.
Arguments about whether or not male teachers should run programs on gender
and violence are irrelevant where none is prepared to do this work. Schools
looking to outside agencies for help need to beware of the agendas of some
providers. (See Masculinity politics
and Different discourses for a range
of beliefs and values promoted by some agencies. Also ask for a 'working
with children check' (new window) for those wishing to work with minors.)
A pro-feminist stance helps to ensure that gender relations are challenged
and that violence against girls, women and other men is recognised as a way
in which some men maintain gender boundaries.
8. Don't rely on 'quick fix' programs.
There are no 'quick fix' solutions. In most instances, ongoing support from
leaders in the school community will be crucial in implementing significant
change, but the process can start small. Data on behaviour management can
be a useful point of entry.
9. Work with boys shouldn't ignore inequalities and injustices
for girls.
Boys may carry a 'sense of entitlement' to traditional privileges that works
against equity in schools, for example, exclusive or dominant use of sporting
equipment or space. Such ideas can be identified and challenged by schools.
Despite a broadened curriculum, traditionally 'masculine' fields like Maths
and Science still attract most boys, even though some of them are not succeeding.
Schools can promote areas of the curriculum that are currently 'feminised',
such as the humanities, encouraging boys to value and develop diverse skills
useful in work, family and community life.
10. Don't be afraid of the 'f' word: feminism.
Feminism is not a dirty word, but it can be used in a derogatory way to silence
work on gender issues. Such silence only ensures that the interests of boys
and girls continue to be pitted against each other. Feminism proclaims that
a person's life should not be limited by narrow concepts of how to be masculine
or feminine and that no human quality is exclusive to one sex. This is a valuable
approach to underpin work in schools with both boys and girls.
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