Girls’ sexual subjectivity in a secondary language classroom

Abstract

This study concerns questions about sexuality in school, and especially girls' sexuality as acted out and spoken of in ordinary everyday practice. School and teaching practices are often understood as sexually 'neutral' and language teaching often emphasises linguistic proficiency over meaning making processes, overlooking the discursive aspects of language practices. The aim is to study girls' sexuality in a secondary language classroom in terms of the performative processes that bring about their subjectivity in relation to intimacy and body. This is studied in relation to what is being remarked upon and what seemingly goes unnoticed. Our results show that contingent female (homo)sexual subjectivity is covered by normative straight female homosociality through the absence of sexuality produced by homosocial presence. We also show that a lesbian subject position is created to fulfil a male straight sex fantasy rather than as a representation of lesbian liveable lives.