Presumed Innocence

Abstract

When sexual harassment and schooling have been the focus of research, the site of investigation has been the secondary school and subsequently the experiences of adolescents. Locating the primary school as a key arena for the production and regulation of sexual discourses, practices and identities, this article examines the neglected area of preadolescents' experiences of different forms of sexual harassment. Drawing on data from an ethnographic study of children's gender and sexual identities during their final year of primary school, the author reports on the physical and verbal forms of heterosexual, homophobic and heterosexist harassment of both girls and boys and suggests that such practices are the means by which many children define, create and consolidate hegemonic masculinities and femininities, heterosexual identities and heterosexual hierarchies. The implications regarding the more damaging practices of children's sexual cultures and relationships for policy and practice are discussed briefly in the concluding section.