Summary of "Seventh Graders and Sexism" by Lisa Espinosa

I chose to read a chapter that was in Part 3 of Rethinking Media and Popular Culture which focuses on "Texts, Toys, and Representation." The article I chose is called "Seventh Graders and Sexism" and is written by Lisa Espinosa. I originally chose to read this article because I too am a science teacher who teaches seventh graders! I found that many themes and interactions Espinosa had with her students to be reflective of experiences and conversations that I have had with my students as well. I left this article with a few new resources that she used in her classroom that I have added at the end of this blog post for your reference!

Lisa Espinosa and her students.


Lisa Espinosa is a daughter of Mexican immigrants who teaches in a primarily Mexican neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. She had a child at the age of 18, and by the time she graduated college eight years later, she had three more children and a keen interest and understanding of gender studies. Espinosa cites many educational researchers and activists who she studied in college that pushed her to aid in the fight for gender equality (I listed them below!). 

"When I became a teacher, I understood that I alone couldn’t solve these problems in mu classroom, but I felt it was my responsibility to address and discuss these issues with my students" (Espinosa 154).

She began working in a middle school and found that many of the strict gender stereotypes she had experienced growing up were still present in the way she heard her students talk to each other, act, and behave. The instance that drove Espinosa to take action and design a unit on gender in her homeroom is described as such: "I had become worried when, in answer to a question about their future hopes and dreams, several girls had responded 'to find a guy to take care of me' or 'to get married,' whereas nearly all of the boys had mentioned either an educational or professional goal" (154).

 

In her discussion of why she chose to create this gender unit, Espinosa describes three main goals she set for herself. First, to bring to her students attention how rampant sexism is, and how necessary it is to identify it and call it out. Second, to critically assess how media portrays the two sexes through a feminist lens. She makes it clear that she does not want feminism to be only thought of as a angry standpoint from her students, but instead as a view that advocates for equality that they can use every day. Finally, she states that she will know she succeeded when she hears her students "incorporating the ideas and ideals of gender equity in their lives" (155).


Once she had her goals established, Espinosa set off in implementing her gender unit (all resources she mentioned I linked below for everyone!) in her homeroom class. One of her first whole group activities was to examine two different phrases "Act Like a Man" and "Be Ladylike." Espinosa put two pieces of chart paper on the board and had students raise their hands and fill in what these two statements look like in action. She states that the boys did most of the talking,  which reinforced gender norms, so one of her largest jobs as facilitator in this activity was to ask the girls specifically what they thought of the phrases. Espinosa also asked the kids these follow up questions: What happens when someone defies their gender role? Why are boys never supposed to be sad? Are girls just more emotional? Why is being called a girl so horrible?

 

My depiction of the chart paper class discussion Espinosa had with her students.

From this discussion, Espinosa moved into developing the vocabulary and critical thinking skills students needed to really analyze how gender acts as a stereotype and guide in our society. As she went through the various videos and readings, she had students do a free write at the end of every class to see what they had absorbed, and what they needed reinforcement in. From here, she introduced a class project that was also writing based, a short story. She believed that to truly cement these ideas, students needed to apply the stereotypes in their own way. Many students narratives are described in the article, but overall, Espinosa was impressed by the empathy students were able to display to support the characters who were stereotyped against in their stories.

"I wanted my students to critically analyze many of the popular magazines they liked to read. I hoped they would see how the media perpetuates the gender stereotypes we had been discussing" (159).

Their final project in this unit was to create a collage as a group of four or five to either support or refute a common gender stereotype in the media. Students were given many magazines to go through and cut up to use as the images on their collages. They could also write words or draw pictures. Espinosa writes that "it was encouraging to hear the students express frustration at the limited number of images available that countered gender stereotypes" because it meant they were learning how to identify the issue (160).

 

Though Espinosa is very critical of her own work, I believe that her attempt to teach her students the importance of realizing how gendered the world is, is an important lesson. I know that I will be taking some of these readings and project ideas into my advisory and classes next year with the hopes to keep the conversation Espinosa started going with my seventh graders!

 

Activists & Educational Researchers Who Inspired Lisa Espinosa

  • Paulo Freire
  • Ronald Takaki
  • Gloria Anzaldúa
  • bell hooks

 

Books/Articles Espinosa Used in Class:

 

Videos Espinosa Used in Class:

  • The Fairer Sex
  • What a Girl Wants
  • Benaat Chicago
  • Tough Guise

 

Projects Espinosa Assigned:

  • (whole class) Examining stereotypes of being a lady vs. acting like a man (see image above)
  • (individual) Free writes at the end of the period
  • (individual) Writing a fictional short story about gender and teenagers
  • (small groups) Creating a collage that either pushes back on or reaffirms a gender stereotype using magazines as the materials

 

**here is another version of her article with pictures of Espinosa and her students!**

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