Perfectly Prep

Gender Extremes at a New England Prep School

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Social Psychology, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Perfectly Prep by Sarah A. Chase, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah A. Chase ISBN: 9780190294786
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: March 20, 2008
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Sarah A. Chase
ISBN: 9780190294786
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: March 20, 2008
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Although New England boarding schools have been educating America's elite for four generations, they, along with their privileged students, rarely have been the subject of study. Living in a senior boys' dorm at a co-ed school, Sarah Chase was able to witness the inner workings of student culture and the dynamics of their peer groups. In an environment of ivy-covered buildings, institutional goals of excellence and aspirations to Ivy League colleges, the boys and girls acted extremely masculine or feminine. While girls typically worked themselves into a state of sleep deprivation and despair during exam period, the boys remained seemingly unconcerned and relaxed. As much as the girls felt pressure to be "cute" and "perfect," the boys felt pressure to be "bad ass" and the "best at everything." Tellingly, the boys thought that "it would suck" to be a girl, while over one third of the girls wanted to be male if given the chance. From her vantage point of sitting in the back of the football and field hockey buses, attending prom and senior pranks, and listening to how students described their academic and social pressures, competition, rumors, backstabbing, sex, and partying, Chase discovered that these boys and girls shared similar values, needs and desires despite their highly gendered behavior. The large class, ethnic and individual differences in how the students perform their genders reveal the importance of culture in development and the power of individual agency. This book examines the price of privilege and uncovers how student culture reflects and perpetuates society and institutional power structures and gender ideologies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Although New England boarding schools have been educating America's elite for four generations, they, along with their privileged students, rarely have been the subject of study. Living in a senior boys' dorm at a co-ed school, Sarah Chase was able to witness the inner workings of student culture and the dynamics of their peer groups. In an environment of ivy-covered buildings, institutional goals of excellence and aspirations to Ivy League colleges, the boys and girls acted extremely masculine or feminine. While girls typically worked themselves into a state of sleep deprivation and despair during exam period, the boys remained seemingly unconcerned and relaxed. As much as the girls felt pressure to be "cute" and "perfect," the boys felt pressure to be "bad ass" and the "best at everything." Tellingly, the boys thought that "it would suck" to be a girl, while over one third of the girls wanted to be male if given the chance. From her vantage point of sitting in the back of the football and field hockey buses, attending prom and senior pranks, and listening to how students described their academic and social pressures, competition, rumors, backstabbing, sex, and partying, Chase discovered that these boys and girls shared similar values, needs and desires despite their highly gendered behavior. The large class, ethnic and individual differences in how the students perform their genders reveal the importance of culture in development and the power of individual agency. This book examines the price of privilege and uncovers how student culture reflects and perpetuates society and institutional power structures and gender ideologies.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Historic Firsts by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Helping School Refusing Children and Their Parents by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Boardwalk of Dreams:Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book The Musician's Journey by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Classic Asian Philosophy by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Simple Heuristics in a Social World by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Childs Moral Imagination by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book The Mind Possessed by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Southern Lady, Yankee Spy by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Balanchine & the Lost Muse by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Classroom Wars by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Measuring Crime: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book American Political History: A Very Short Introduction by Sarah A. Chase
Cover of the book Bakkhai by Sarah A. Chase
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy