Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 1
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom
Kristy Tubbs
University of Central Florida
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 2
Introduction
“From culture to culture, the male-female distinction has been assigned meanings and
significance that have implications for work, family, leisure, and ritual—virtually all aspects of
social life. Yet, it is only within fairly recent history that we have begun to stand back from and
question the meanings that cultures have placed on femaleness and maleness, femininity and
masculinity.” -Hilary M. Lips, Sex and Gender: An Introduction (1997).
We may begin to think that gender is a simple concept and so obvious to understand, yet
we have no idea the depth of which our youth form their identities. It is cliché of us to think that
girls are made of “sugar and spice” and boys are made of “snips and snails”. To the superficial
observer, boys and girls don’t seem to look alike, act alike, think the same thoughts, or possess
the same abilities (Rosenberg & Thurber, 2007). How true are these apparent differences? From
the time we are born, socialization begins its lifelong progression of predictability. Girls wear
pink, boys wear blue. Girls play with dolls, boys play with trucks. These exaggerated
differences get in the way of the similarities that boys and girls share. The importance of
questioning gender differences is so that teachers can see how gender affects how they teach a
subject as well as the boys and girls in the classroom.
Purpose
The purpose of this research paper is to further explore gender studies in relation to
drawing. Is there a shift in perspective of gender identification from the Tuman study to present?
After reading Tuman’s article, Gender Style as Form and Content I became concerned that
perhaps I am neglecting to examine the dynamics of what I teach in art. My goal is to conduct
the same study as Tuman, and then compare and contrast past gender style studies to current
students using the same demographics of students to receive the most accurate results. It would
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 3
be curious to see if the same narrative will produce the same results now as it did then. Upon
receiving data, my purpose would be to assess results to determine what influenced the shift of
student perspectives in drawing. Does a contemporary age make a difference in a child’s artistic
development? Can we seize those influences of studies and to help inform us in planning to
maximum effectiveness?
Review of Literature
The article that began my curiosity of gender studies was Tuman’s Gender Style as Form
and Content: An Examination of Gender Stereotypes in the Subject Preference of Children’s
Drawing. In this 21st century we live in there are still biases about preferred gender and our
expectations for those genders. Those same biased assumptions about gender differences in a
child’s drawing from 1905 are no different than 1926, or now. I find it interesting that we as a
society are so intrigued with conducting this research.
Bottom line, boys and girls are different breeds. Stereotypically girls like pink and boys
like blue. I found it quite fascinating that early studies of gender styles concluded that boys’
drawing abilities were superior to girls without taking into account that boys and girls have
different social interests. Perhaps because the study is nearly 107 years old that the obvious
problems were not speculated because they were of no concern. It was later that “superior” and
“inferior” was not of valuable investigation anymore, giving way to subtle nuances between
gender and style (Tuman, 1999). Research agrees that a girls’ drawing reflects balance, realism,
natural or domestic settings; while boys’ drawings suggest imaginary scenes, humor, fantasy,
action, warriors, and machines. Feinburg (1976) conducted a study in which boys and girls were
asked to draw pictures in response to the words “fighting” and “helping”. Results were
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 4
marginally different. The girls portrayed “fighting” as emotional conflict between known
figures, while in contrast the boys’ portrayed “fighting” as action between violent armies or
fantasy teams. Feinburg suggests that girls’ preference for symmetry is evidence of two different
culturally learned approaches to subject matter (Tuman 1999). I feel that if this same response
test was conducted now with those same age groups that the results would be slightly different.
If what Feinburg says about “culturally learned” or socially learned is true then results today
would vary. There are girls who would draw with a boy’s point of view because she is active in
sports or grew up with 3 big brothers. Her exposure to a boy’s “world” is more socially
acceptable now than 30 years ago when she was expected to be a lady and like dresses and dolls.
I would argue that same point with a boy now. Though not quite as much socially acceptable,
boys are being raised with more feminine influences. If a young boy is exposed to those
variables, then his drawing is likely to differ from the boys in 1976.
Later in the article a study including 300 children was administered so that a preference
for conceptual content in a drawing is influenced by gender. The first variable problem in this
study is that the demographics are predominately white, middle to upper class with less than 20%
minority population. Knowing this, you cannot conclude the results of a general population for
all boys and girls. The study began with a narrative appealing to children ages 7-12 of
stereotypical home experience through dramatic fantasy of events (Tuman 1999). The students
were asked to illustrate part of the story and then write about it. As expected the girls preferred
the parts of the story where clothes, cats, and make-up were involved. The boys preferred sports,
winning, and a brawl between rivals. Scoring for this was on 22 characteristics of art using a
checklist rating instrument. My curiosity cannot help but wonder the results I would find in one
of my classes. This may be one of the options for me as my final paper. Several things would
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 5
have to be weighed and measured such as to what kind of story would I use. For controlled
substance, one option would be to write the story myself. In the original study, I don’t recall if it
said there were two separate stories but that I would hope it wasn’t. Two separate stories would
practically dictate the outcome of results. The article clearly grabbed my attention which is why
I selected it as the springboard into my action research.
My second review of literature from which I found importance is Children’s Drawing as
a Sociocultural Practice: Remaking Gender and Popular Culture by Olga Ivashkevich. This
article became meaningful to gender studies as it examines the importance of social culture on
children and how influence reflects in their lives.
“ When studying children’s drawing, it s important not only to understand the
relationship between their daily verbal interactions and visual meaning making in different
sociocultural contexts but also to grasp the complex array of sociocultural factors that influence
the meaning construction manifested through graphic activity” –O. Ivanshkevich
The developmental approach to children’s drawings has shifted from the universal stepby-step evolution of graphic forms to more visual realism that account for social influences and
individual differences. In this article Ivanshkevich re-conceptualizes children’s self-initiated
drawings as a sociocultural practice interwoven with peer interactions, daily activities, and
participation in popular culture. Children “are unavoidably expressed and defined through their
relationships with material commodities, and through the commercially produced media texts
that permeate their live” (Ivashkevich, 2009). According to an analysis of Sternheimer (2003),
children are victim to media advertising. The media is very much intertwined with all aspects of
young peoples lives today and represent “collective hopes and anxieties, reinforcing beliefs as
well as bringing social issues to our attention” (Ivashkevich, 2009). The media acts as a social
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 6
mirror which reflects both adults’ and childrens’ needs, desires, and power struggles. It is
blatantly clear in popular television shows including The Simpsons, Fairly Odd Parents, or Teen
Titans Go! Children are portrayed as independent and knowledgeable, thereby erasing the
boundaries between adults and children.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, girlhood has shifted dramatically toward a more active
and emancipated female stance. Not only are girls expected to become wives and mothers, but
also to perform academically, athletically and personally. Media texts are said to feed these
aspirations through a variety of strong, proactive, and smart female superheroes such as the
Power Puff Girls and Power Rangers. However, not every economic background has access to
this. For girls in families that cannot afford a T.V., how do the girls picture themselves?
Expectations of a girls’ appearance is often contradictory. While encouraged to reveal their
bodies with short skirts to attract the opposite sex, girls are also required to be modest because
exposure threatens to undermine the idea of a good, sexually unassuming girl.
Ivashkevich conducted a nine-month ethnographic investigation of two 10-year old girls,
using informal interviews and observations. She explored the girls’ drawings, interactions, and
relates daily practices in various locations such as school, recess, camp, and home. One
important aspect of this study was its illumination of the preadolescent girls’ image production of
a sociocultural practice, a complex process of negotiating and resisting the dominant ideas of
feminity presented in popular culture (Ivashkevich, 2009). Observed, most of the drawings
Maria and Jessie produced were those that revolved around fashion, body image, and beautytypical for Western culture. However, embedded in daily interactions between two
contemporary preadolescent girls was the unexpected tool of resistance. One drawing stands out
from the rest in that it reveals the girls’ awareness that boys may judge girls on appearance, and
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 7
they may need to compete for attention. Yet both girls did not take for granted this societal
female position. As an alternative, it became a subject for teasing and overt resistance. The
importance of this study was finding that the images the girls produced were rarely selfexplanatory. They could easily be misread or judged based on the visual. Nevertheless, based
on their interactions with each other, the images took on an entirely new meaning. By
understanding media influence we can better access the effectiveness of instruction. Through
instruction I can evaluate lesson plans, and then modify them so they are sharing masculine and
feminine qualities for maximum student engagement.
My third review of literature came from the text book Gender Matters in Art Education.
Rosenberg and Thurber argue that the majority of gender is based on socialization, not biology.
How much are the meaningful differences in gender due to be biological or social? Socialization
is the lifelong process by which society defines us as individuals (Rosenberg & Thurber, 2007).
Why do we focus so much on the differences between boys and girls, rather than the similarities
that cross gender lines? Do people exaggerate differences and ignore similarities because they
accept the basic idea that boys and girls are supposed to be different kinds of individuals? These
are the important questions for teachers because their assumptions about gender can affect how
they teach boys and girls in the classroom.
From the time a woman gets pregnant, she is asked, and “Do you want a boy or a girl?”
People treat boys and girls differently from a very early time! Studies have shown that parents
have differing expectations and practice differing treatment of male or female babies. What
many do not consciously realize is there is a huge impact of the different conduction of boys and
girls, particularly when it happens every day. In the classroom, our management as teachers has
a powerful effect on our students in terms of the gender socialization process. Evidence
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 8
demonstrates that the conflicting treatment and socialization of girls and boys limits the
possibilities for both. Girls often are described with good behavior, desire to please, and general
attention to assigned tasks. However, this works against them in acquiring equal, valuable
attention from the teacher. Boys have been strapped into an emotionally repressive “boy code”
which grants them lack of success in emotional and behavioral growth (Rosenberg & Thurber,
2007).
So what does research really say about gender differences? Socially, studies have shown
males to be the more aggressive and prevailing in situations. Then again, women are also
capable of aggressive and dominant behavior. In my study, this is clearly shown several times
for some young ladies. Psychologists tend to have a biased assumption that males and females
are fundamentally different in cognitive and perceptual skills. Everyone accepts that there are
some physiological differences. Women are capable of having children, live longer, are smaller,
have more body fat, have less upper body strength than men, and mature faster. Have the
similarities ever been considered? Boys and girls have a wide range of abilities and behavior
which are not dictated solely by gender.
Methodology & Procedures
In my study, 35 children in second grade participated. The students participating are
from Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. The school is predominately white, middle to
upper-class constituency with less than 15% minority population. The characteristics of this
educational community are very similar to the setting of the previous studies.
My research is action based, which is appropriate for a teacher who can use the
qualitative research to apply to everyday curriculum. The first study I conducted was based off
of Feinburg’s study of “Fighting” and “Helping”. Students were asked to create a pencil drawing
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 9
of what they perceived fighting and helping to be. Students were asked for their name and grade
level. Students were not allowed to work together and had a testing folder between them. This
was to eliminate any peeking that could result in outside influence to their original thoughts.
Students had 30 minutes in their regularly scheduled art class to complete both pictures. On one
side of the paper was the “fighting” illustration, and “helping” was on the opposite side. The
teacher (myself) then assessed the drawings under four categories: emotional conflict, aggressive
conflict, personal assistance, or social assistance. The assessment was informal, looking for
content qualities to identify.
In Feinburg’s original study, girls portrayed “fighting” in terms of emotional conflict
between friends or family, and “helping” in terms of personal assistance. Boys portrayed
“fighting” as war or violence, while “helping” was social such as building a bridge. In my
findings, the boys practically remained the same when it came to “fighting”. Fourteen out of the
sixteen boys portrayed aggressive behavior. Antonio and Reef illustrated a classic boyish picture
using content including weapons (Appendix E). It was curious to find that 15 out of 17 boys saw
“helping” as more personal than social. The girls in the study leaned more toward these original
tendencies, but surprisingly the numbers were not profoundly different. My second grade ladies
surprised me slightly since 8 out of 19 drew aggressive “fighting” pictures (Appendix D & E).
Summer illustrated her idea of “fighting” as boys on a street fighting afterschool. She also
associated “fighting” to be in a city as she labeled her illustration in New York City. While most
of the girls portrayed “helping” in a personal setting, 3 out of 19 girls drew social helpfulness.
The best example is illustrated by Taylor who shows a child planting a seed, and then the seed
grows into a tree over time.
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 10
Compared to Feingberg’s previous study, I do believe there is a shift in perspective of
young people today. More so with girls than with boys, and that is because society deems boyish
behavior most acceptable for girls. Girls are socialized more similarly to boys now than when
they were in the past. Girls are much more active in athletics, and not just tennis, but lacrosse
and boxing. Their style includes “boy fit” jeans or the “boyfriend” shirt. Even music is must
more aggressive for girls. Female record artists such as Pink and Rihanna send messages about
girl power and dominant behavior. I believe the reason for the boys drawing more personal
helpfulness in their pictures is because of the school demographics. At Montverde Academy we
teach and focus on character everyday and how it affects us as people later in life. This has a
powerful effect in the classroom for the gender socialization process.
The second study I conducted action research in was a re-imagining of Tuman’s narrative
study. During their regularly scheduled art class, students were read a narrative (Appendix A)
and were asked to illustrate what they liked best about the story. The narrative was based off of
Tuman’s. The highlighted imagery was that from Tuman, while the rest I filled in the blanks.
Students used 8 ½ x 11 manila drawing paper, pencils, erasers, and crayons to illustrate their
favorite part in the story. The drawings were evaluated informally for evidence of conceptual
content. The structure of the evaluation was also informal in the areas of masculine versus
feminine.
As a result (Appendix B & C), when given a conceptual theme content choice for
drawing, the majority of girls and boys choose subject matter “appropriate” to their gender. One
boy out of 13 drew a more feminine picture from the narrative, while five out of 18 girls drew a
more masculine picture. The shift in perspective is much more so with girls than boys. The girls
that drew more of the masculine pictures from the narrative are girls I know to be more athletic
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 11
and exposed to more “boyish” activities. Only one boy created a picture that was from the
feminist perspective (Appendix C). Aiden is a boy who is involved in music, drama, dance, and
has stated his favorite color is pink. There was one boy however that chose a very neutral
illustration. Murdoc drew a picture of the boy in the story packing his backpack with snacks and
gear awkwardly. His choice does not surprise me, since he is a student who always find the
quirky as the most interesting. The only reason I labeled his drawing as masculine was because
it was in the brother’s part of the story. Social factors influence the meaning of a child’s
drawing. The differing treatment of boys and girls influences expectations.
Implications
As teachers, we all have expectations of what a lesson should turn out to look like in the
end. Many lesson plans can be analyzed and labels as “male” or “female” in the content or
approach. I intend on using my results to assist me in redesigning my approach to lessons.
Teachers (I) should be more aware of how we treat boys and girls in the classroom. Differing
treatment and socialization limits the possibilities for boys and girls (Rosenberg & Thurber,
2007, pg.8).
“We know art as a universal language that transcends all barriers and crosses all lines
of gender, culture and ethnicity. As this is true, it is equally true that what humans view as art,
whom they consider important artists, and how they respond to, interpret, and evaluate art have
all been and continue to be affected by considerations of gender (Rosenburg & Thurber, 2007).”
There are common biases in art instruction and sometimes we aren’t even aware of it.
We want to teach about “great” artists, and they were all men. We have all been accountable for
this at one time or another. Several times I have studied an artwork for its meaning with no
further knowledge of the gender of the artist, and assumed one meaning. Then I am surprised
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 12
when someone corrects the gender, but leaves the meaning unanswered, my vision for that
artwork changed. As art educators we need to jump over this bias of thinking and teach gender
equality among artists and find the parallel.
Conclusion
In conclusion I need to end on what I have learned during this action based research
process. I have learned that through research in your field head on develops you every day. The
more I began researching gender in my classroom, the more aware I became of my curriculum
and the reconstruction I need to conduct on it. Gender socialization is long process that is
influenced by everyday occurrences and influences. I need to be aware of my own personal
behaviors and assumptions about gender-based expectations for my students so that I do not limit
their capabilities. Art is how people relate to the social world, and I need to be more selective of
my choice for meaningful concepts for student exploration.
I am now committed to being an active teacher versus a passive teacher. Research really
is as simple as choosing a small idea, and from it create new knowledge and information to
implement (Brewer, 1997). In order to teach effectively, I must understand my students inside
and out to the best of my ability. Social influences and individual difference can be incorporated
into the classroom to create a well balanced and effective curriculum. Most importantly, I have
learned not to anxious about research. In order to be a great teacher, I must research. As
difficult as it is for me to admit, just like contemporary art in a classroom, the research I did was
actually very enjoyable. I looked forward to analyzing my students’ drawings because I knew
whatever research I was doing was going to directly benefit them.
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 13
References
Brewer, T. (1997). Research and the art teacher. Forum, 1(1), 24-28. [On-line]
http://www.arts.ufl.edu/art/Forum.forum.html
Ivashkevich, O. (2009). Children’s Drawing as a Sociocultural Practice: Remaking Gender and
Popular Culture. Studies in Art Education, 51(1), 50-63.
Rosenberg, M. & Thurber, F. (2007). Gender matters in art education. Worcester, MA: Davis
Publications, Inc.
Tuman. D.M. (1999). Gender Styles as Form and Content: An Examination of Gender
Stereotypes in the Subject Preference of Children’s Drawing. Studies in Art Education,
41(1), 43-64.
Wagner-Ott, A. (2002). Analysis of Gender Identity Through Doll and Action Figure Politics in
Art Education. Studies in Art Education, 43(3), 246-263.
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 14
Appendix A
Re-Imagined Tuman Narrative
Early on Saturday morning Katie and Jack sat at the breakfast table looking bored. Katie
stirred her cherrios while Jack blew bubbles in his milk. Jack was trying to focus on his soccer
game that afternoon, but soon got frustrated and heaved his strawberries and whipped cream at
his sister. Sure, it was a bad choice, but it made him laugh!
Upset, Kate ran to find her mother to tell her what happened. Katie’s mom said, “ You
may invite some friends over today since Jack will be gone. You can have the whole house to
have fun!” Katie liked this idea. After all, she hadn’t had a sleep over in ages. She marched to
the phone and promptly called her friends.
Jack had a busy day ahead of him. He wanted to be ready for the soccer game so he
busied himself with packing his backpack with his gear. After, he made his way to the kitchen to
pack some of his favorite snacks: a turkey and cheese sandwich, green grapes, chocolate chip
cookies and a gatorade. Jack planned on taking his bike to the game, so he made his way to the
garage. In the garage he realized his bike had a flat tire and hastily decided to go to his soccer
game on his skateboard. On his way he did trick jumps on the curb.
Back at home, Katie was well under way with three friends: Alice, Nessie, and Josie.
The girls rummaged through an older sister's closet and played dress up. Alice put on a cute
black dress, high heels, red lipstick, blush and blue eye shadow! This gave Katie an idea to put
on costumes and have a parade. Nessie found a fun astronaut costume complete with a huge
white suit and dome helmet. Josie came out looking like a princess wearing an old prom dress
with lots of lace and frills. Katie found her mother’s wedding dress and carried a huge bouquet
of multi-colored roses.
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 15
After a yummy lunch of fresh fruit, lemonade and sandwiches, the girls giggled over a
fluttering butterfly so hard they rolled right out of their chairs. This led to practicing gymnastics
up and down the yard. Somersaults and cartwheels everywhere! Kate and Alice even used the
swing set to pretend they were flying. Soon, they heard a faint, “Meow Meow” from the bushes.
Out poked a little nose from the flower bed. “A kitty!” the girls shrieked! “She must be lost,”
Nesie said. “ Oh no”, replied Josie. The cat quickly scattered into the garden shed. The four
curious and concerned girls followed. Inside, they discovered 5 new baby kittens! Together,
they snuggled with the kittens.
Jack returned home for dinner. His mother yelled so loud upon his return that people in
China must have heard. Jack was covered in mud from head to toe with cuts all over his legs
and arms! There he stood triumphantly. When asked why he looked like a pig his response was
quite the tale. He told his family that the clock was counting down the last seconds when he
scored the winning goal! Jack also told them that the other team’s goalie was not very happy.
He was 300 lbs and jumped on top of him! Jack punched him to get him off! A big fight broke
out between the teams, and the whole field was covered in a cloud of smoke.
Both Katie and Jack were very exhausted after their long day of adventures!
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 16
Appendix B
14
12
10
Feminine
8
Masculine
6
4
2
0
Boys
Girls
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 17
Appendix C
Sara: “Kate’s Mom’s Wedding Dress”
2nd Grade
Andrew: “Skateboard Tricks”
2nd Grade
Kai: “Cool Tricks!”
2nd Grade
Antonio: “Jack the mudpig”
2nd Grade
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 18
Murdoc: “Pack the Backpack”
2nd Grade
Appendix D
16
14
12
Aggressive Conflict
10
Emotional Conflict
8
Personal Help
6
Social Help
4
2
0
Girls
Boys
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 19
Appendix E
Reef: “Fighting” Age: 8
Melanie: “Helping” Age: 9
Summer: “Guys on street fighting afterschool” Murdoc: “Helping”
Age: 9
Age: 7
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 20
Appendix E continued
Antonio: “Fighting”
Age:8
Olivia: “Fighting”
Age:8
Taylor, Age: 8 “Helping”
Matria, Age: 8 “Picking up trash: Helping”
Gender Studies in a Contemporary Classroom 21