Individuality and (dis)identification in young women's friendship at school.

This thesis concerns itself with young women's (aged 14/15) discourses and
practices of friendship at Hilltop, a large urban comprehensive school in the
North of England. Young women's experiences of friendship are central to this
thesis. This is reflected in the 'feminist research praxis' adopted, and the use of
the following participatory research methods: multi-locational participant
observation (curriculum classrooms, PSHE classroom, registration, corridors,
dining hall, staff room, local 'hang out' areas), self-directed photography, and
semi-structured group and individual interviews with young women. The use of
participatory research methods when working with young women at school raises
a number of ethical and moral dilemmas for the feminist researcher. These are
discussed in-depth in chapter two, specifically in relation to a feminist 'politics
of intervention'.
Discourses of individuality and practices of (dis)identification (Skeggs, 1997) are
central to understanding young women's complex and often contradictory
constructions of friendship which serve to reproduce heterosexual and classed
femininities. In all three empirical chapters relations of power are masked
through practices of (dis )identification (Skeggs, 1997). Through the use of three
case-studies chapter three focuses on young women's discourses of individuality
and practices of (dis)identification. Young women's responses to 'heterosexual
laddism' (Epstein and Johnson, 1998) in the 'sexuality education' classroom are
discussed in chapter four. Finally, chapter five considers 'alternative' young
women's discourses of 'distinctive individuality' (Muggleton, 2000) and spatial
practices of (dis)identification. The material encountered in this thesis suggests
that it is heterosexuality as masculinity and the 'male-in-the-head' (Holland et al,
1998) that benefits from the cultural suppression of young women's friendship
through discourses of individuality and practices of (dis)identification.