Abstract
In this chapter, Gerald Walton explores the ideology of gender and focuses on the problem of social violence against gender atypical people, meaning those who do not, or refuse to, conform to the dominant norms, expectations, and expressions of gender. He thinks of such violence broadly to include genderbashing and gaybashing, which are more extreme examples of daily and normative gender regulation that shape, but do not determine, gender presentations regardless of gender identity. Walton challenges hegemonic conceptualizations of gender as two rigidly distinct categories (girls/women and boys/men) that stem from two distinct sexes (female and male). He also describes how gendered violence operates in schools, mirroring society at large, to regulate the gendered expressions of all children, whether gender atypical or typical. Approaches to understanding and supporting gender atypicality are offered so that school leaders can work towards shaping their schools into more equitable and safe spaces for gender minorities especially and spaces where gender regulation is a diminished source of violence.
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Walton, G. (2014). Corrupting Children: The Regulation of Children’s Gender Presentations and Identities and Implications for Educators and School Administrators. In: Bogotch, I., Shields, C. (eds) International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Social (In)Justice. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 29. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6555-9_40
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