“Tuck in that Shirt!” Race, Class, Gender, and Discipline in an Urban School

TLDR

The article argues that disciplinary practices in schools simultaneously reproduce race, class, and gender inequalities, highlighting the need to consider all three dimensions in reform efforts. This article explores how schools reproduce race, class, and gender inequality through the regulation of students' bodies. Using ethnographic data from an urban school, the study examines how bodily discipline assumptions differ across student groups. The study finds that African American girls are disciplined for being perceived as not ladylike, Latino boys are punished for perceived threat, and white and Asian American students receive less strict discipline.

Abstract

This article explores how schools reproduce race, class, and gender inequality through the regulation of students' bodies. Using ethnographic data from an urban school, I examine how assumptions guiding bodily discipline differed for different groups of students. First, adults at the school tended to view the behaviors of African American girls as not “ladylike” and attempted to discipline them into dress and manners considered more gender appropriate. Second, school officials tended to view the behaviors of Latino boys as especially threatening, and members of this group often received strict, punitive discipline. Third, school officials tended to view the behaviors of white and Asian American students as nonthreatening and gender appropriate and disciplined these students less strictly. To conclude, I discuss the importance of viewing race, class, and gender in schools simultaneously and the problems associated with disciplinary reform in education.