Living Gender in Diverse Times
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Sociology & Social Policy
Abstract
From coverage of Miley Cyrus' declaration that 'You Can Just Be Whatever You Want to Be' in 'Time Magazine', the introduction of a gender fluid character into the video game 'Sims 4' and Facebook's launch of multiple gender 'options', the last year and half of media coverage lends support to the 'Financial Times' End of Year (2015) pronouncement 'Year in a word: Trans: Gender discussion becomes a nuanced, fluid , 'non-binary' affair'.While there has been significant cultural interest in the ways in which young people are moving away from the traditional binary identities of male and female and adopting gendered expressions that destabilise conventional gendered norms. Academic research has yet to explore the ways in which the meanings of gender have changed for young people or to address the implications of this on gender as a social category more broadly. The overall aim of this project is to gain in-depth evidence driven knowledge of the understandings and practices of gender in the 21st C. UK amongst young people between the ages of 15-24.
The project seeks to go beyond an exploration of individual understandings by addressing the ways in which the social structures of gender, class, race, age, sexuality and geographical location impact on the access to, and the experiences of, non-traditional gender identities and practices. The project will also explore the ways in which young people negotiate their gender identities and practices with families, partners, peer groups and friendship networks, leisure and social media spaces and within the formal spaces of education and work. Finally the project will consider the impact of the media, at the levels of consumption and production, on young people's gendered identities and expressions.
The project will be organised around 6 themes, which work together to address the key spheres of young people's lives at individual, collective, social and discursive levels.
Theme 1: Understanding Gender will explore how gender diversity is variously understood in contemporary society.
Theme 2: Practicing Gender will explore the ways in which shifting understandings feed into everyday gendered practices and expressions.
Theme 3: Living Gender in Intimate and Personal Lives will explore how contemporary gendered expressions are negotiated through the wider contexts of families and kinship, intimate relationships, peer groups and friendship networks, leisure and social media spaces.
Theme 4: The Social Organisation of Gender will explore how contemporary gendered expressions are negotiated in the formal spaces of education and employment.
Theme 5: Structuring Gender will explore the impact of gender, class, race, age, sexuality and geographical location on gendered understandings and practices.
Theme 6: Cultural Mediations of Gender will explore the processes and effects of popular culture around gender diversity as they are produced and consumed across different sections of society.
A range of qualitative methods will be employed across the 6 themes to enable the project to access rich data on meanings, attitudes and decision making processes, and broader structural and discursive influences. These include: 20 focus groups, 60 one-to-one interviews, an interactive website and blog, multi-media diary and visual methods, and theatre production through which the project will consider young people's contemporary understandings and practices of gender.
The project's key themes - the body, gender identity, gendered identities, practices and expressions, and shifting notions of masculinity and femininity are key to a range of disciplines across the social sciences and humanities. Findings will be disseminated to interdisciplinary academic audiences; bringing new knowledge on a highly topical subject to the fields of gender studies, sociology, cultural studies, education, media studies, and youth studies. The project will have wide non-academic reach as detailed in PtI.
The project seeks to go beyond an exploration of individual understandings by addressing the ways in which the social structures of gender, class, race, age, sexuality and geographical location impact on the access to, and the experiences of, non-traditional gender identities and practices. The project will also explore the ways in which young people negotiate their gender identities and practices with families, partners, peer groups and friendship networks, leisure and social media spaces and within the formal spaces of education and work. Finally the project will consider the impact of the media, at the levels of consumption and production, on young people's gendered identities and expressions.
The project will be organised around 6 themes, which work together to address the key spheres of young people's lives at individual, collective, social and discursive levels.
Theme 1: Understanding Gender will explore how gender diversity is variously understood in contemporary society.
Theme 2: Practicing Gender will explore the ways in which shifting understandings feed into everyday gendered practices and expressions.
Theme 3: Living Gender in Intimate and Personal Lives will explore how contemporary gendered expressions are negotiated through the wider contexts of families and kinship, intimate relationships, peer groups and friendship networks, leisure and social media spaces.
Theme 4: The Social Organisation of Gender will explore how contemporary gendered expressions are negotiated in the formal spaces of education and employment.
Theme 5: Structuring Gender will explore the impact of gender, class, race, age, sexuality and geographical location on gendered understandings and practices.
Theme 6: Cultural Mediations of Gender will explore the processes and effects of popular culture around gender diversity as they are produced and consumed across different sections of society.
A range of qualitative methods will be employed across the 6 themes to enable the project to access rich data on meanings, attitudes and decision making processes, and broader structural and discursive influences. These include: 20 focus groups, 60 one-to-one interviews, an interactive website and blog, multi-media diary and visual methods, and theatre production through which the project will consider young people's contemporary understandings and practices of gender.
The project's key themes - the body, gender identity, gendered identities, practices and expressions, and shifting notions of masculinity and femininity are key to a range of disciplines across the social sciences and humanities. Findings will be disseminated to interdisciplinary academic audiences; bringing new knowledge on a highly topical subject to the fields of gender studies, sociology, cultural studies, education, media studies, and youth studies. The project will have wide non-academic reach as detailed in PtI.
Planned Impact
The project seeks to create dialogue between academic, policy makers, and practitioner and user-group communities in order to impact on policy change, particularly in the areas of young people's education, citizenship and recognition, health and well-being, and mental health The key themes of the project are significantly connected to issues of discrimination, stigma and social exclusion. The project's knowledge exchange strategy thus foregrounds the importance of knowledge and practice sharing. In broadening public educational and awareness initiatives on young people's gendered practices, the project will have potential direct impact on a range of groups including:
1) Professional and voluntary organisations working with young people including youth workers, mental health practitioners, social workers, teachers, further and higher education practitioners, especially in the field of sex and relationship education, and cultural practitioners will benefit through the wide dissemination of project bulletins, key findings information sheet and the project report. Knowledge exchange workshops will be held with representatives from these groups and conference will be open to members of youth - focused professional and voluntary organisations and related industries. Findings will impact on these groups to bring greater awareness of the experiences of gender diversity among young people, which, in turn, will lead to an increased awareness of the specific equality and diversity issues facing these groups. 2) Policy makers at national and local level have been consulted on the project- including those within government departments such as Department for Education and the Women and Equalities Committee, and in local government - and will benefit from project bulletins, collaborative key findings information sheet and the project report. Youth policy practitioners have been consulted and will be invited to participate in the workshops and the conference. The project aims to contribute to evidence- based policy making on issues pertaining to the rights and recognition of gender diverse youth and to the future development of sex and relationship education that accounts for gender diversity among young people. 3) Equality and Diversity organisations have been consulted (EHRC, ECU, Unicef) and will benefit from project bulletins, key findings information sheet and the project report. Groups will be targeted through dissemination workshops and invited to present at the end of project conference. The project will provide these groups with increased and current knowledge about gender diversity among young people, which will be important to the future development of anti-discrimination strategies in education and employment spaces. 4) The project will also provide important insights to consulted campaigning organisations (e.g. Fawcett, Stonewall) focused on discrimination in relation to issues of gender, class, race, age and sexuality. 5) Media and cultural practitioners who produce and commission cultural/media texts aimed at and consumed by young people will benefit from enhanced knowledge about the gendered practices and understandings of contemporary youth and ensure that cultural representations better reflect these. These groups will be targeted through project bulletins, the project report, the dissemination workshops and invited to the conference. 6) The project will bring significant new insights into young people's media and cultural productions and consumption patterns and practices, which will be of benefit far beyond the specific gender-focused topic of the project. More broadly, the research will benefit young people, their families and the general public through facilitating dialogue about the gendered understandings, experiences and practices of young people in the UK. The project will also benefit these groups through its contribution towards public awareness raising on a topic of increasing social and cultural importanc
1) Professional and voluntary organisations working with young people including youth workers, mental health practitioners, social workers, teachers, further and higher education practitioners, especially in the field of sex and relationship education, and cultural practitioners will benefit through the wide dissemination of project bulletins, key findings information sheet and the project report. Knowledge exchange workshops will be held with representatives from these groups and conference will be open to members of youth - focused professional and voluntary organisations and related industries. Findings will impact on these groups to bring greater awareness of the experiences of gender diversity among young people, which, in turn, will lead to an increased awareness of the specific equality and diversity issues facing these groups. 2) Policy makers at national and local level have been consulted on the project- including those within government departments such as Department for Education and the Women and Equalities Committee, and in local government - and will benefit from project bulletins, collaborative key findings information sheet and the project report. Youth policy practitioners have been consulted and will be invited to participate in the workshops and the conference. The project aims to contribute to evidence- based policy making on issues pertaining to the rights and recognition of gender diverse youth and to the future development of sex and relationship education that accounts for gender diversity among young people. 3) Equality and Diversity organisations have been consulted (EHRC, ECU, Unicef) and will benefit from project bulletins, key findings information sheet and the project report. Groups will be targeted through dissemination workshops and invited to present at the end of project conference. The project will provide these groups with increased and current knowledge about gender diversity among young people, which will be important to the future development of anti-discrimination strategies in education and employment spaces. 4) The project will also provide important insights to consulted campaigning organisations (e.g. Fawcett, Stonewall) focused on discrimination in relation to issues of gender, class, race, age and sexuality. 5) Media and cultural practitioners who produce and commission cultural/media texts aimed at and consumed by young people will benefit from enhanced knowledge about the gendered practices and understandings of contemporary youth and ensure that cultural representations better reflect these. These groups will be targeted through project bulletins, the project report, the dissemination workshops and invited to the conference. 6) The project will bring significant new insights into young people's media and cultural productions and consumption patterns and practices, which will be of benefit far beyond the specific gender-focused topic of the project. More broadly, the research will benefit young people, their families and the general public through facilitating dialogue about the gendered understandings, experiences and practices of young people in the UK. The project will also benefit these groups through its contribution towards public awareness raising on a topic of increasing social and cultural importanc
Organisations
Publications
Allen K
(2021)
Trailblazing the gender revolution? Young people's understandings of gender diversity through generation and social change
in Journal of Youth Studies
Cuthbert K
(2022)
Hearing, Policing, and Using Gender Diversity: The Role of Institutional Gatekeepers in Researching Youth and Gender
in Sociological Research Online
| Description | Findings Overview: Findings point to the importance of intersectionality in determining current understandings and practices of gender in the UK. In this way, young people's experiences and gendered practices are impacted by class, race, religion, sexuality and geographical location. What gender means - or what if could mean - are also impacted by these intersecting social categories. Many young people talked positively about social and cultural shifts that have led to an increased visibility in gender diversity or of the understanding of gender as fluid, however, others felt this was problematic or confusing. While many young people thought of gender as existing on a spectrum, others very much thought of gender as denoting a binary of male and female. These divergencies linked back to the issues of intersectionality. Findings suggest that, despite an increase in educational initiatives around gender identity for young people in youth spaces and educational settings, and the growth in online platforms for minority gender groups, many young people with diverse gender identities feel isolated and report poor mental health. Bullying in schools remains an issue. Findings show the importance of positive and supportive family relationships for young people with diverse gender identities. Findings Summary: • Most of the young people involved in the Living Gender research felt that they did not know enough about gender diversity and would welcome opportunities to learn more both at educational programmes facilitated by schools, colleges, universities, and youth services. • The research reveals significant diversity in young people's understanding and knowledge around gender diversity. • While the research was conducted with young people from the ages of 16 to 24, the findings have implications for practitioners working with children and young people of all ages. Children learn about gender at a young age and are highly influenced by the language and attitudes of adults, particularly those in positions of authority. All young people can be encouraged and supported to talk about gender diversity within the context of wider debates around gender and how this affects us all. • The young trans and non-binary people that we worked with spoke about the detrimental impact on their self-esteem, educational progress, and physical and mental health and of the often-negative media portrayal of gender diversity. • Non-binary young people were concerned that they were marginalised in terms of representations of trans and that this meant that their individual voices went unheard. • The research found that there remained much negative 'banter' related to sex and gender that frequently goes unnoticed by many and remains unchallenged by educational providers and youth service workers. Alongside, this, we found a failure to appreciate the significance of non-inclusive language on young trans and non-binary people and the importance for all young people of developing inclusive language. • The research indicated a complex and uneven terrain in terms of young people's understandings and practices of gender. Young people's gendered understandings and practices are formed intersectionally and, in this way, are tied up with other social positions and experiences such as social class, race and ethnicity, sexuality and disability. • Despite a greater increase in the social and cultural visibility and awareness of gender diversity, sexual harassment, and homophobic and transphobic bullying continued to have significant detrimental effects on many young people. • For young cis, trans and non-binary people the persistent and damaging effects of regulatory gender norms in the UK stills leads to a narrowing of choices and opportunities and impacts negatively on their health and wellbeing. |
| Exploitation Route | Findings discussed above will be valuable to educators and youth service organisations. and professionals and practitioners working in the area of young people's mental health. Findings suggest the need for gender diversity training in the national curriculum. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare |
| Description | At this stage of the project. the non-academic impacts have largely been linked to the comic, which has been used as an educational resource. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2019 Paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented on initial research findings for BSA conference 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |