Spinsters, Bachelors, and Other Gender Transgressors in School Employment, 1850-1990

Abstract

Over the past two centuries, school employment in the United States generally has been divided into gender-identified roles. In spite of this stark division, however, many men and women have transgressed their acceptable gendered places in schoolwork. At times, these gender transgressors-including male teachers of young children, women superintendents, spinsters, and more recently, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender educators-have faced severe sanctions as individuals, institutions, and the broader society have labored to maintain strict gender boundaries around them. This article offers an historical analysis of how fear of homosexuality emerged among educators and the public, and further how homophobia has perpetuated rigid gender-identified roles in school employment.

Wearing My Identity: A Transgender Teacher in the Classroom

“…Because of her masculine appearance, she knows people will assume she is gay. Blout (2000) reminds us that, "when gender challenges cross a community or cultural threshold of acceptance, schools typically reign in the transgresssors'' (p. 85). Although Kelly is clearly a valued member of her school, she does not feel comfortable using her given name.…”

“…Gender transgressors in educational systems have taken different forms throughout history (Blout, 2000). Recently, transgender teachers have made national news-usually because they are fired for transitioning while on the job (Bentley, 1998a(Bentley, , 1998bDodge & Rotzoll, 1998).…”

When a boy's gotta dance: new masculinities, old pleasures

“…But as historians have amply shown, female over-representation in the teaching profession has coincided precisely with those periods in which the status of the profession has been lowest. That is, teaching has usually been a profession numerically dominated by women only when men have chosen not do it (O'Donnell, 1984;Grumet, 1988;Blount, 2000). While discrimination against women in fields such as science has been well documented, the idea of discrimination against male teachers suffers in the face of clear evidence that men rise more quickly and in greater numbers (compared to women) to positions of leadership and higher pay within educational systems and bureaucracies (Grumet, 1988;Acker, 1994).…”

Performing the principal: school leadership, masculinity and emotion

“…Certainly, the few males who do choose to make a career in elementary schooling have been highly sought and their rise through the ranks would appear to be more rapid than that of their majority female counterparts (Blount, 2000;Connell, 1992Connell, , 2005Martino & Frank, 2006;Mills, Martino, & Lingard, 2007). However, despite these indications of ongoing male privilege, increasing numbers of women are applying and gaining positions as school leaders.…”