Gender before the table

This study is the result of ethnographic research in a school classroom, which focused on the (re)production of gender in the daily life of the school collective. It is based on an ethnomethodological perspective (West and Zimmerman 1987; Fenstermaker and West 2002) and is inspired by post-structuralist studies of childhood and gender (primarily Davies 2003). The research was carried out in a year 7 class at a primary school as ethnographic observation during family, art, and music education lessons. The study represents a comprehensive view of gender reproduction on various levels: 1. on the level of everyday interactions (doing gender), 2. on the level of discourse and the positioning of individuals within that discourse, and 3. on the level of individual identities and the meanings that the children themselves attribute to gender.