Perfectly Prep: Gender Extremes at a New England Prep School (Child Development in Cultural Context)

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. Moving into a senior boys' dorm at a co-ed New England preparatory school, I soon noticed vast behavioral differences among the students that I found hard to understand. In an environment of ivy-covered buildings, institutional goals of excellence and aspirations to Ivy League colleges, I observed that many girls worked themselves into a state of sleep deprivation and despair during exam period while the boys remained seemingly unconcerned and relaxed. I noticed that the girls felt the pressure to be “cute” and “perfect”, while the boys felt pressure to be “bad ass” and the “best at everything.” I learned that the boys thought that “it would suck” to be a girl and that one third of the girls would be male if given the chance. I noticed class and ethnic differences in how the students seemed to display their masculinity and femininity. From my vantage point of sitting in the back of the football and field-hockey buses, touring dorm rooms, listening to the words they used to describe each others' looks and sexuality, and listening to them discussing their academic and social pressures, competition, rumors, backstabbing, sex, and partying, I discovered that these boys and girls shared similar values, needs, and desires. Caught in the crossfire between cultural and institutional values of individuality, hierarchy and success, class and racial/ethnic differences, and society's expectations for gender appropriate behavior, these students faced conflicting pressures that affected both their social and academic success. This work provides insight into the costs of privilege as well as class, ethnic, and individual differences in the performance of gender. It reveals how the adolescent culture of this powerful group reflects and perpetuates larger cultural, institutional, class and ethnic values, gender ideals, and power structures, and ultimately exposes the underpinnings of the American character Living In A Senior Boys' Dorm At A Co-ed School, Sarah Chase Was Able To Witness The Inner Workings Of Student Culture And Power Of Individual Agency. She Examines The Price Of Privilege And Uncovers How Student Culture Reflects And Perpetuates Society And Institutional Power Structures And Gender Ideologies. Gender Ideologies At Prep School -- Prep Schools And Bolton Academy -- Social Worlds: How Girls And Guys Do It Differently -- Cute Girls, Cool Guys -- Differences At Bolton: Race, Class And More -- Perfect Girls, Best-at-everything Guys: Managing Pressure, Having Fun -- Masculinity Wins The Day. Sarah A. Chase. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 321-340) And Index. Contents......Page 10 1 Gender Ideologies at Prep School......Page 12 2 Prep Schools and Bolton Academy......Page 24 3 Social Worlds: How Girls and Guys Do It Differently......Page 49 4 Cute Girls, Cool Guys......Page 100 5 Differences at Bolton: Race, Class, and More......Page 175 6 Perfect Girls, Best-at-Everything Guys: Managing Pressure, Having Fun......Page 228 7 Masculinity Wins the Day......Page 299 Notes......Page 324 Bibliography......Page 332 A......Page 352 C......Page 353 E......Page 354 G......Page 355 M......Page 356 O......Page 357 P......Page 358 S......Page 359 W......Page 361