Gender and feminist scholarship: A dynamic theoretical framework living on the edges (original) (raw)

2014. Ms. Yousafzai's book (2013), I am Malala, sheds light on issues of gender and education at a global level. In particular, her book informs readers about the challenges that young women living in patriarchal, traditional, and socially conservative societies face in terms of acquiring education. On the surface, Ms. Yousafzai's powerful message causes readers to consider the significant discrepancies that exist with respect to gender and education between various societies, whether they are traditional, repressive, moderate, progressive, enlightened, or a combination of classifications. But appearances can be deceiving. In western societies, where gender issues are ostensibly viewed as having been resolved, the term postfeminist is employed upon occasion to characterize a discourse of "unambiguous female success, where celebrations of ' presumptive' gender equity are taken as proof that meritocratic principles for attaining bourgeois success have worked" (Walkerdine & Ringrose, 2006, p. 33). Careful analysis reveals, however, that in most contemporary societies, gender and education discrepancies remain noticeable concerns. In 2005, Harvard University President Larry Summers attributed the under-representation of female scientists at elite universities to deficiencies in the innate abilities of women (Hemel, 2005). Summers' remarks drew strong popular criticism and eventually he resigned from his position, but questions raised by his comments remained. How could the head of one of the most elite universities in the World question women's intellectual abilities in the field of science? Gender disparities of course have not been limited to education. Men continue to dominate the majority of political offices, technology and weaponry, and worldwide men's earned incomes are approximately 180% of women's (Connell, 2006, p. 27). In the Fortune 500 companies, just 4.6% of CEOs are women (Catalyst, 2015: Weiler, 2014). Moreover, women comprise only 10% of aerospace engineers (American Federation of Labor, [AFL], 2013). Thus, a gender gap by occupation continue and a wage gap persists that translates into significant differences in earnings over the course of a lifetime. After the 2014 congressional elections, just 19% of the United States Congress were women (Center for American Women and Politics, 2015; Weiler, 2014). Thus, women remain a minority in the U.S. political process making women less likely to be depicted in social studies curriculum and instruction. Feminist Scholarship and Social Studies Because women often are not at the forefront of the political, military, and business arenas, feminist scholarship in the realm of social studies education is correspondingly paltry, Indeed, research that employs gender and/or feminism as a theoretical framework in social studies education continues to reside on the edges. This phenomenon is evident from my review of recent gender and feminist scholarship in social studies education.