I will investigate in this tile how satire is often used to shine a light on the
shortcomings of those in power, which has evolved into jokey humour. I will discuss how the transcript showed that only the boys were learning to use satire, mostly to assert their male superiority.
In a boys’ discussion group, a boy effectively used satire through the use of
extraordinary visuals by humorously ridiculing and undermining the witch’s house as a ‘custard’ one and seeing his peers react, extending Paley (1990) observations. This humorous covert tactic was often employed subconsciously by boys to enhance male hegemonic power even over threatening story features. The boy’s quip could be regarded as a mental rebellion almost against the witch’s powerful status as a home owner by ‘stupidifying’ her house. This form of social control and dominance was not found to occur in the girls’ groups due possibly to their
perception of themselves as subordinate.
In a Hansel and Gretel boys’ group, it was shown how positive self-schemas can regulate behaviour when participants are self-aware. The discussion showed the power of fairy tales in constructing behavioural conceptions of normality and deviance, to make the norms appear moral or ‘right’ and in the desire to conform
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(Foucault, 2001). The discussion furthered Gilligan’s (1982) ethics of justice, and the recognition of the importance of rule-making for boys through self-regulatory declarations:
R: ‘Stupid girl!’ said the witch. B1: You don’t say idiot.
B2: You’re not allowed to say that. B3: Or stupid face, or bollocks. B4: Or ‘my god’.
B2: Oh my gosh you mean. R: She’s not being very nice.
B4: Maybe she’s going to turn into a monster. B3: I think she is very scary looking at us.
The superiority theory of humour psychology suggests that we laugh at others when we have been caught out ourselves, and wish to prevent being caught out in the same situation again. The satirical intention comes from the schadenfreude thrill of having someone fall for it – particularly when that person is in a position of power, which boys B1, B2 and B4 were attempting to do with myself, the female
researcher. It was evident that the boys were pushing against the acceptable behavioural boundaries, indicating their resistance to power in the classroom and society. My stereotypical conformist judgement highlighted Biddulph’s (1997) and Skelton’s (2002) concern about the feminisation of schooling, where schools support female virtues and expectations. They argued for the need of re-
masculinisation of school environments to reinforce traditional notions of masculinity alongside those of femininity. However, this adherence to the sex role theory does not take into account variation, resistance and individual agency, and the gender- neutral perspectives needed for progressive and transformative changes in the production of equal power relations and opportunities.
My research has demonstrated that humour was beginning to be used to define group membership, particularly by the boys. Humour was clearly used as a mechanism for self-regulation, resistance and the complex manoeuvrings that characterise children’s worlds to reposition themselves as more powerful and popular.
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5.5.5
Summary
In determining “How can a critical gendered response in young children be elicited using fairy tales?”, it was evident humorous approaches were used to challenge the social power existing in the research groups and with myself, a female researcher. It was found that they used three main forms of humour, represented by the tiles (Fig.5.43): joker, scatological and satirical, resulting in complex power relational practices as Walkerdine (1981) observed.
Resistance to power key:
None Limited Skilled
Joker: This form of humour was used by one boy in particular to reinforce hierarchical ranking positioning, often pushing against classroom behavioural boundaries due to the dichotomy of social and educational desired gender
performances. In the mixed group, the girls responded by applying a self-silencing strategy, as Gilligan (1982) discovered, equally exaggerating a desired performance of gender that resulted in the successful creation of Foucauldian docile bodies. This was significant, because as the boys were learning how to become more
accomplished in the dominant use of power through verbal discourse, as
Walkderine’s (1984) findings demonstrated, girls were losing social confidence and becoming less powerful.
Scatological humour Joker humour Satirical humour
Fig. 5.43 Tiles to show the children’s humorous resistant responses.
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Scatological humour: Both the boys and girls were found to use this crude humour to challenge hierarchical authority, combining both Butlerian and Foucauldian aspects of power. Gender was found to influence their resistant responses to authoritarian father figures: the boys considered physical bodily acts, such as dropping poo on the Mandarin or putting false teeth in his pants, whilst the girls focused on the moral discourse of bodily appearance, such as how the Ogre had a big belly and bogies in his nostrils. It was noted that in the mixed groups, the girls would often follow the boys’ lead, hence complying with hidden power relations and expectations as Clarricoates (1978) recognised.
Satire: This was found to emerge much more amongst the boys themselves, and effectively used as a self-regulatory practice based upon heteronormative
expectations, as denoted by Butler (1988) but in a more extreme aggressive and exaggerated way. Positive self-schemas were found to be effective in addressing these occurrences to support emotional resilience amongst the boys.
I found that the children’s humorous responses challenged my feelings of control both as a female researcher and in the loco parentis position. These challenging power and male-female dynamics influenced the boundaries of critical responses, and in some cases, effectively limited my ability to scaffold discussions as a Vygotskian MKO.
5.6
Chapter conclusion
In this study, I used thematic analysis to connect the related tiles of themes and categories to form a multimodal mosaic (Fig. 5.44). By combining the gendered themes identified in the four questions’ findings, they illustrate effective methods and strategies to determine: “How can a critical gendered response be elicited in young children using fairy tales?” Questions 1, 2 and 3 formed intertwined strands through the mosaic, whereas Question 4 was fragmented around the edges. The tiles for Question 4 were dispersed rather than combined, reflecting how the children’s humorous abilities and resistant strategies could be applied in response to more than one topic area within the confines of the educational context in which they were learning.
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This study has shown the importance of a pedagogical interactive model for change in order to support Vygotskian higher cognitive thought for creative and progressive gender discourses. I argue that this model helped to broaden the critical
understanding of Gilligan’s (1982) ethics of justice and caring acts for both genders, and thereby contribute to promoting egalitarian and democratic power relations. I have demonstrated the importance of rethinking the delivery of EY literacy by
Scatological humour Perfect body acts Self- identification and Hierarchal symbolism Efferent and aesthetic symbolism Emotional symbolism Caring Father acts Future careers and opportunities Heroic symbolism Real Mother acts Alternative heroic acts Obedience
and agency Joker humour Satirical humour Key to Mosaic: Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4
Fig. 5.44 A multi-modal mosaic of young children’s critical responses and discourses
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promoting pedagogies of choice. This approach encourages critical thinking and listening as well as the use of multimodal language and approaches with young children to enable greater aesthetic and emotional expression, and positive behaviour. This has implications for the delivery of the critical literacy practice and the principle of choice regarding children’s curiosity, especially for girls. I argue that if children encounter an adult (gender) biased literary selection, then they unlearn the habit of choice and surrender the right to be interested. This study showed that learning to choose is equally an essential part of learning to learn and of developing a personal identity.
The results established that contemporary childhoods are receiving a wide range of cultural messages that emphasise the binary aspects of gender rather than its similarities. To develop an ideal curriculum, stories need to exhibit alternatives to overcome restrictive self-surveillance measures, and develop positive self- affirmations for future careers and well-being. As the results perhaps surprisingly discovered, even at this young age the children are resistant to emancipatory messages. I argue that the findings are a cautionary warning that any gender conformity can lead to marginalisation due to their desire to belong and what it means to belong. This study demonstrated that the use of alternative protagonists enabled a new culture to be forged with the children, thereby creating more
opportunities for diversity and for them to tell their own story. A critical element that was highlighted was the necessity for giving children, and in particular girls,
opportunities to discuss matters that affect them. If the research was to be
conducted again, I would work with only single sex groups for the girls as they were the least receptive in the mixed-sex groups, whereas the boys were mostly
consistent in either single or mixed sex groups, their peers being the greatest influence.
To overcome restrictive cultural perceptions and disciplinary measures in research such as this, I would argue for re-thinking the researcher-child participant
relationship. The use of critical reflexivity and consideration of the establishment of personal and professional relationships was a crucial factor in conducting this study. I realised that my own responses made in the moment could be challenged
afterwards from a critical perspective, such as exercising a moral judgement on the anatomical sexual discourse that reinforced, rather than challenged, traditional hegemonic structures. The mosaic approach proposed a researcher-child relationship of simple reciprocity and acceptance of one another, based upon
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mutual respect. I would argue that the relations were not truly reciprocal: I was conducting the study from both a feminist researcher and the child’s perspective, whereas the child was only responding from their perspective. When considering relationships within groups, since children learn from cooperative activity, it was necessary that they cooperated rather than resisted hegemonic authority. However, there is one mandatory relationship rule in all EY settings; the teacher’s voice must be heard. A teacher’s authority is often derived from the quality of the relations with the children, which then allows them to wield it. As the boys’ group showed in their resistance to a ‘female’ researcher, there was a need to seek alternative authority, such as the equality and gender-neutral values in the school curriculum and policies, and even the local community. This study showed that every word that I said counted, even the most neutral comment had an influence on researcher-child power relations. I argue that the difficulty of reciprocity can be overcome by
considering a relationship triangle, with the critical storytelling discussions and activities, myself and the children, but engaged for different purposes. I would support freedom of speech, both isegoria and parrhesia, to help challenge gendered boundaries and to reduce the development of limited perceptions.
From the children’s critical responses and their imaginative interpretations and transformations of gendered stereotypes in fairy tales, the findings obtained will be triangulated with those of the next two chapters. Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 will reflect upon the parents’ questionnaire responses and the teachers’ questionnaire and interview responses respectively, analysing their perceptions and approaches to stories and gender-neutral storytelling, their understanding of children’s gendered relationships and expression, and their strategies for the transformation of gendered stereotypes and language.
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