Gender-based violence as difficult knowledge: pedagogies for rebalancing the masculine and the feminine

Abstract

ABSTRACTGender-based violence is a staggering but normalized global phenomenon, illustrated by the global reach of the #MeToo movement. Gender-based violence and the impacts of trauma enter learning spaces daily, acknowledged or not. Adult learners often respond to learning about gender relations with avoidance, denial, fear, defensiveness and trivialization, all facets of resistance. Britzman calls this ‘difficult knowledge’. Yet, education does reduce gender-based violence. The first step toward trauma-informed education is awareness of the pervasiveness of gender-based violence and its reverberations in education. Thus, we provide a global snapshot of statistics and definitions. Second, we describe an extensive literature review which revealed little explicit attention to gender-based violence in the field, reproducing hiddenness and ‘unspeakableness’. Third, we analyze the myths and theories about gender-based violence echoed by learners, which either reproduces the conditions of violence or creates opportunities for transformative learning. Drawing from masculinity and feminist studies, we analyze how genders are educated into patriarchy and violence, largely through informal education. We then propose principles for unlearning violence and trauma-informed education as well as guidance for addressing difficult knowledge and learner resistance. By unflinchingly addressing the deep structure of patriarchy, educators can design pedagogies for rebalancing the Masculine and the Feminine.