Naslov
Institutional gender regulation: queer youth inequality in Croatian educational setting

Autori
Parunov, Pavao

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, stručni

Skup
Conference: Gender in Transformation Processes: Central and Southeast European Perspectives

Mjesto i datum
Graz, Austrija, 30.09.2021. - 01.10.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Recenziran

Ključne riječi
Queer youth, gender regulation, education inequality

Sažetak
International research has repeatedly shown that social inequalities of queer youth is a complex issue which is particularly evident in social settings of schools and universities. In Southeast Europe countries, including Croatia, and under the ongoing pressures from conservative politics, scholars are still dealing with macro politics of sexuality. These politics often rely on the instrumentalization of youth sexuality in education, mostly centered in the public debates on curriculum changes. In the heteronormative discourse of these debates, queer sexualities and genders are constructed as threats to heterosexual norms and values. Despite the international research findings and the presence of queer sexualities and genders in the public discourse on education, micro phenomena of queer youth inequality in the education setting is a heavily under researched topic. Based on the ethnographic study conducted with Croatian queer youth, the presentation proposes conceptualizing institutions of education as agents of heteronormative values and practices. Based on approaches of critical and institutional ethnography, findings from the study suggest that both schools and universities work as active mediators between translocal and local (Smith, 2002) heteronormative practices. These findings show that local heteronormative practices of schools and universities rely on the mechanism of gender regulation (Butler, 2001). Sexual orientation of queer youth becomes secondary to their gender expressions as both peers and institutional staff evaluate their non- normative expressions of femininity and masculinity and construct them as markers of sexual orientation. Finally, this mechanism enables institutions to avoid engagement with queer marginalization in the institutional setting by implementing a private/public dichotomy and defining it as a private matter.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Sociologija

POVEZANOST RADA