Asian EFL Journal: Linguistic Voices | Karen Kow Yip Cheng & Amir Biglar Beigi

Title
Ostracizing men in gender studies

Authors
Karen Kow Yip Cheng & Amir Biglar Beigi.

There has been a number of researches concerning the issue of gender in education and particularly in educational materials. They have put emphasis on this very fact that women in school textbooks are marginalized and placed at a disadvantage. The core argument for this line of research is to find some qualitative and quantitative data proving that women are portrayed in a gender-biased picture (e.g. Babaii & Ansary, 2003). Nevertheless, there is one possibility in this area of research which has not been explored in depth. Even though many gender studies on educational materials prioritize women and their rights, men can be put at a disadvantage through using gender-biased textbooks as well.

Considering some of the findings of these investigations this approach towards gender studies in education cannot give a fair picture of men and women in the wider society. For instance, the findings suggest that many gender stereotypes in textbooks ascribe gender exclusive characteristics to males and females (Alimdjanova, 2005). Unlike men who are always aggressive, based on these studies, women are depicted as submissive characters committing no violence.

By contrast, Straus (2008) demonstrated through qualitative and quantitative analysis of female and male respondents from 32 different nations that perpetuators of violence against partners are both genders, followed by Female-Only, and that the least frequently occurring pattern is "male-only. The results from this study adds cross-national evidence to the present debate that many women are also violent against their partners and they are just as likely as men to be a perpetrator. In other words, this can nullify the debate that women are always submissive and we overlook the possibility of women assaults against men. Thus, studies such as Babaii and Ansary (2003) which focuses on women’s discrimination in textbooks should include this possibility that although there are large numbers of women who are victims of gender stereotypes, men can be victimized if for instance think that women cannot be aggressive (Straus, 2005 and 2006), that is both men and women are incidentally violent to their partners and we cannot say that gender stereotypes in textbooks only put women at a disadvantage.

Overall, it should be argued that gender inequality is definitely to the disadvantage of women, but the researchers investigating the sensitive issue of gender in education need to be cognizant of the likelihood that men also bear difficulties by the existence of gender stereotypes in textbooks. After all, to have an egalitarian society, we should consider the rights of both sexes in all arenas including gender research in education.

Alimdjanova, D (2005). Gender stereotypes in the textbooks of the primary schools in Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan: Network for Gender Studies.

Babaii, E & Ansary,H,. (2003). Subliminal Sexism in Current ESL/EFL Textbooks. Asian EFL Journal,
5, 200-241

Straus, M. A. (2005, July 10 - 13). Gender and partner violence in world perspective: Some results from the international dating violence study. Paper presented at the 9th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH.

Straus, M.A. (2006). Future Research on Gender Symmetry in Physical Assaults on Partners. Violence Against Women. 12(11), 1086-1097.

Straus, M.A. (2008). Dominance and symmetry in partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations. Children and Youth Services Review . 30, 252–275.