Lisa Espinosa, Seventh Graders and Sexism

As someone with a sociology background and genuine passion for it, I tend to read classroom experiences through a sociological lens, especially when it comes to how students make sense of identity, power, and norms. With this, I chose to read Seventh Graders and Sexism by Lisa Espinosa from Rethinking Popular Culture and Media. After teaching 6th and 7th grade social studies, I've become overwhelmingly aware of how visible gender norms and sexism are in everyday school life. I always knew these truisms existed, but I was surprised by how often they show up in student interactions, expectations, and even humor, often without being named directly.

Espinosa (2016) focuses on what sexism looks like in a real middle school classroom, not in dramatic or extreme moments, but in everyday patters of student behavior and interaction. She describes how gender expectations are constantly being communicated through peer culture, school routines, and even seemingly small classroom exchanges. One of her key observations is that students often do not recognize these patterns as "sexism" at all, instead they categorize them as normal or just "how things are."

In her classroom, Espinosa (2016) noticed clear differences in how students expressed their future and identities. Many girls described their hopes in terms of relationships or being taken care of, while boys more often focused on education and careers. She also observed differences in participation, where girls more likely shared their ideas in question form, while boys spoke more directly and assertively. Even peer language reflected gender hierarchy- phrased like calling someone "a girl" were sometimes used as insults, reinforcing negative associations with femininity.

Espinosa also describes how these patterns are not accidental, but learned through multiple influences: media, family expectations, peer interactions, and school culture (Espinosa, 2016). To help students engage with these ideas, she uses classroom discussions and media analysis. Curated texts help students connect their own experiences to broader social messages about gender.

What stood out to most was how deeply embedded these norms are in everyday life. Students are exposed to sexist and heteronormative ideas constantly, and then reproducing them in subtle ways. Students are great at recognizing sexism and gender norms as large societal issues, but they still struggle connect it to their daily interactions. Espinosa points out that students explicitly named that the problem just seems to big and abstract, so it becomes easier to overlook behaviors that sustain it.

It is important to mention that despite her experience, Espinosa (2016) does not present students as passive. Her goal is to help them question stereotypes about gender and rethink assumptions about feminism, masculinity, and identity. Rather than treating sexism as something that is simply "out there," she frames it as something that can be examined and challenged within school environments. 

Reference

Espinosa, L. (2016). Seventh graders and sexism. In E. Marshall & Ö. Sensoy (Eds.), Rethinking popular culture and media (2nd ed., pp. 153–161). Rethinking Schools.