"Maybe on the Spectrum": Gender Performativity and Pedagogy at a Major Research University

• In Event: Women's Experiences in Higher Education

Abstract

Marginalization of women is a concern in academic physical science, and when women are present they are often segregated into lower status work. Gender performativity theory contends discursive boundaries constantly redefine gender as fluid and performative. This paper reports on ethnographic research into the occupational lives teaching faculty in science department, exploring how gender performativity influences their experiences at work. My central claim is that only the gender performativities intelligible within the context of science and teaching are accepted as socially correct and can escape social sanctions. It is supported by an analysis of how (un)doing gender provides affordances or constraints within the workplace’s culture.

Author

• Katherine Doerr, The University of Texas at Austin