Pascoe, C.J. Dude, You’re A Fag. Berkely: University of California Press, 2007.
C.J. Pascoe’s ethnography, Dude, You’re A Fag, summarizes her research and fieldwork from eighteen months of study in a high school. Pascoe interviewed students, teachers and administration. Additionally, she also spent time observing in classrooms and school events such as prom. Her conclusion is that masculinity is not tied to a male’s body, but is the “practices and discourses that different youths…may embody in different ways and to different degrees” and is understood “as a form of dominance usually expressed through sexualized discourses”(5).
Pascoe focuses her study of masculinity as sexualized discourses and how it develops during high school. However, she does not discuss or give credit to the earlier years in a child’s life; where Pascoe will argue that these sexual issues will begin in high school, there is evidence that this occurs earlier. Teachers and other adults are encountering issues of sexuality in middle school aged children. In addition to this, sex education courses are being taught as early as middle school.
Before Pascoe can fully conclude how masculinity is developed through sexualized discourses in high school, she must first research how this process begins in earlier years. For example, Pascoe explains how events such as school dances promote compulsive heterosexuality (25); however, these events are not unique to high school. Middle schools and even elementary schools often hold school dances for various other reasons, such as Valentine’s Day dances. A Valentine’s Day dance is related to romance, but excludes homosexual romances. In addition, eighth grade students often look forward to their end of the year eighth grade social, which celebrates their graduation from middle to high school; this social is basically like a miniature prom. Furthermore, it does not stop with dances; sports and other competitive teams are also found in elementary and middle schools which add to the process of building concepts of masculinity and sexuality. Also, dance teams and cheerleading squads not only promote a feminine sexualized discourse for females, but also promote compulsive heterosexuality by discouraging male participation. Instead of ignoring these details in her ethnography, Pascoe should explain that some concepts have already been put into place before high school instead of conveying that it all occurs during high school.
Moreover, Pascoe’s conclusions are generalized to high schools across the nation. Her conclusions include: administration has little tolerance for politically involved homosexuals (147), teachers and administrators promote heterosexual discourses (39), and sexuality is treated differently based on race (71). However, only one high school was observed to come up with these conclusions. Where high schools have a generic structure, not every high school is the same, thus posing a threat to the external validity of her ethnographic research. Some areas are more tolerant than others when it comes to sexuality as well as race; not to mention, where River High has a majority of white students, other schools have a majority of African American students or other races. Because of the differences among each high school, Pascoe will need to observe a wider variety of high schools across the nation in order to make a stronger and more definitive conclusion. Otherwise, she can explain that her conclusions are meant for a typical, mostly Caucasian and heterosexual high school.
Lastly, Pascoe concludes that homosexual women deny their female anatomy for a male anatomy (128), of which she uses two students to verify this point. The first is Rebeca, a lesbian student who describes herself as masculine, plays sports, and is not politically active; the second is Genevieve, a lesbian student who does not describe herself as masculine, does not play sports, and is politically active. Rebeca states, “I can’t help it if I have girls on my jock” (128). Later on in the book, Genevieve claims, “They can suck my cock” (145). By claiming that they have a ‘jock’ or ‘cock’, these girls regender themselves. However, Pascoe’s conclusion is too generalized. Where Rebeca used her claim to symbolize girls’ attraction to her, Genevieve was using her claim as an insult.
What Pascoe overlooked is that because masculinity tends be dominant over femininity, a dominant insult would more likely involve masculine features rather than feminine features. This would explain why Genevieve’s insult has been used by heterosexual women as well as homosexual women; it does not necessarily mean that a woman who uses this insult is regendering herself. In addition, men say this to one another, not necessarily in a homosexual tone, but rather as a symbol of dominance or trash talk. Also, Pascoe explains that a part of masculinity is the ability to control a female’s body (104). Naturally, males brag and try to outdo each other on their abilities to pleasure a woman and make the woman’s body do certain things. So, if a woman was to say the ‘feminine equivalent’ of “They can suck my cock”, it would most likely be received as an invitation or a joke rather than an insult. You do not hear men or women say “Eat me” and expect the other party to be dominated; instead, you hear sentences involving the male anatomy, which is dominant and penetrative.
In conclusion, C.J. Pascoe’s ethnography covers a great amount of factors that contribute to masculinity in high schools including: the fag discourse (60), compulsive heterosexuality (84), and masculine girls (115). However, what she fails to mention is how it has already developed earlier in life and how it can be different in other schools. In addition, she has overlooked important details that can alter her conclusion. Despite my findings, I recommend Dude, You’re A Fag to a reader that is at a college level or higher. It is a great way to begin research or a discussion for a scholarly audience because the ethnography was not written for the average Joe to understand. Pascoe’s ethnography is a well written guide to begin the study of masculinity and sexuality in high schools, though it is not stand-alone.
