Dude You Re A Fag Summary

The ethnography, Dude You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality In High School, written by C.J. Pascoe observes the roles of gender and sexuality in high school. Pascoe’s main goal was to study the interaction between sexes and how males constantly feel the need to be superior to females; she figured there was no place better to study these topics than at your average high school. In her 18-month study at a high school in California called River High, Pascoe examined masculinity and how it is constantly stressed and protected by young men. Throughout the ethnography it is clear that heterosexuality is stressed in a high school environment. The idea of male dominance in Pascoe’s work is not only presented through the behavior of the students, but also through the language and dialogue. The author approaches her topic of study in a creative way. The author has the ability to take the information given to her and make it have greater meaning.

In the appendix of the ethnography, Pascoe tells her readers essentially what kind of person she is and how she collected her data throughout her studies. In the appendix, she identifies what her own experienced were like while at the school. Although at times it was probably hard for her, Pascoe had to no choice but to also deal with the students just like if she were another student or teacher. Even though it was important for the author to stay gender neutral throughout the entire time she was observing the school, there were times when this was exceptionally difficult for her. In this section of the writing, the author identifies a time in her research when she personally felt intimidated and invaded by one of the boys and how she dealt with the situation. It is interesting to see that even Pascoe fell victim to one of the young males during her 18-month period at the