Young Women's Health and Physical
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The “Missing Discourses of Desire:” Young Women’s Health and Physical Education Experiences in Toronto and Porto Alegre by Laura Leigh Elliott A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Exercise Sciences Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education University of Toronto ©Copyright by Laura Leigh Elliott (2018) The “Missing Discourses of Desire:” Young women’s Health and Physical Education Experiences in Toronto and Porto Alegre Laura Leigh Elliott Doctor of Philosophy Department of Exercise Sciences University of Toronto 2018 Abstract Through a feminist poststructural lens, this dissertation explores: (a) the range of understandings about gendered and racialized bodies held by young women in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; (b) a comparison of the discourses embedded in health and physical education (HPE) policy with respect to gender, sexuality, and fitness in two urban high schools in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and two urban high schools in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; and (c) the effects that gendered and racialized narratives mediating HPE policy and media consumption have on young women in these cities. This study involved a policy analysis of HPE documents and 40 semi-structured interviews with young women 14-17 years of age (n=20 in Canada; and n=20 in Brazil) in order to investigate the myriad of ways in which the body is gendered, sexualized and racialized in HPE and media. Interviews in Toronto and Porto Alegre reveal that students who took part in this study embody a form of healthism promoted in school and throughout the wide range of media platforms the young women consume. In Toronto, the consequence is what Michelle Fine (1988) calls a “missing discourse of desire” that tends to negate pleasure for students. Porto Alegre students taking part in this study also exhibit healthist biopedagogies, although self-acceptance and pleasure emerged as dominant themes. These latter themes emerging from the Porto Alegre responses, diverge from the Toronto youth responses; as the Porto Alegre youth celebrate more diverse visions of the female body, whereas Toronto students discuss a discourse of ‘moderation.’ This moderation discourse narrows positive embodied practices. Utilizing Fine’s argument about “missing discourses of ii desire” in education, Ontario HPE is then examined and questioned in relation to embodied pleasures made possible for young people in HPE. Policy recommendations include: addressing the social determinants of health in policy, adding opportunities for joyful experiences in physical education, and including critical health literacy and social media literacy in future policy. Young women are encouraged to find embodied pleasure in their physical education experiences and to critically question media representations of the female form. iii Acknowledgements I want to begin by thanking the 40 young people who participated in this study. Without your thoughtful and passionate contributions, this dissertation would not have been possible. I am inspired by the commitment of this generation to their education, and the education of those who follow in their footsteps. Though I cannot disclose the names of these participants, I am forever grateful for their time and insight into their physical education and media experiences. My graduate school journey has been made possible by the village that surrounds me. I could not have accomplished this arduous task without the love and support from my family, supportive friends and colleagues over the past five years, and I want to use this opportunity to say thank you. It is hard to put into words the gratitude I have for the scholars at the University of Toronto who have shaped my perspectives about academia, education and research. Dr. Margaret MacNeill, I could not have completed this program without your unwavering positivity and expertise in our field. Not only did you offer invaluable insight about my research, but you have also supported me personally during a challenging and busy time in my life. You always make yourself available for a meeting, sometimes even bouncing one of my children on your knee while we discuss biopedagogy or Foucault! This is a testament to your caring nature and dedication to helping young scholars in our field. I am so grateful for your help in all of these areas, and I feel so fortunate to have had you not only as my advisor, but also as a mentor and friend throughout this journey. To my international supervisor, Dr. Alex Branco Fraga; the international portion of this study would not have been possible without your unwavering support and dedication to my project. Yourself and the POLIFES team welcomed my work with passion and dedication. The hours of work you spent on the challenging logistics of this project, the multiple Skype interviews, and meetings in person in Toronto were invaluable to the integrity of this project, and I am forever indebted to your kindness and support. To the POLIFES team, Ana Paula, Priscilla, Fernando, Eduardo; your thoughtful work in interviews, translation and transcription touch iv the pages of this dissertation and enrich the analysis of this project in ways I did not know were possible. I am grateful for your dedication to our field, your thoughtful questions throughout this process, and your skills as researchers. Abraços (!) to you all and I hope to meet you in person one day! To my supervisory committee members, Dr. Mike Atkinson and Dr. Caroline Fusco, I am forever appreciative of your commitment to excellence in our field and your dedication to my project and progress as a young scholar. Mike, observing your lectures as both a student and teaching assistant have helped reinvigorate my own passion and dedication to teaching. Your passion for research and education are palpable as a teacher, researcher and supervisor. Thank you! Caroline, thank you for contributing your expertise to my intellectual journey. Your influence graces these pages, and I thank you for your time, energy and kindness while I have navigated graduate work. To my mom, I thank you for instilling in me a work ethic and ‘grit’ that allowed me to complete this graduate school journey. Watching you go back to school as a single mother, reminds me that I can achieve any goal with dedication and hard work. Thank you for modeling this behavior for me from the beginning and giving me ‘tough love’ when I felt defeated for any number of reasons throughout this journey. To my husband, Blair, thank you for your complete and unwavering support throughout this process. You have always shown genuine interest in my work and research and continually demonstrate your love and support. Whether it be through giving extra love and time to our children when while I was writing this dissertation or offering an ear or arms during the times that I did not think I could take on this task on top of the rest of ‘life,’ you have always been there for me. I love you, and I look forward to this next chapter of our life with our family. To my daughters, Nora and Margot, I dedicate this dissertation to you. It is my hope that this work makes some small change in the way ‘girls’ take up and embody gender in school and v media and I hope I have made you proud. I love you both more than words can say, and I cannot wait to see you grow up into the strong and caring people I know you already are. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER ONE: Introductions .............................................................................................1 1.1 Study Background ................................................................................................................1 1.2 Research Questions and Purpose .........................................................................................6 1.3 The Importance of Cross-Cultural Education Research ......................................................7 1.4 Thesis Organization .............................................................................................................9 CHAPTER TWO: Review of Literature .............................................................................11 2.2 The History of HPE in Canada & Brazil ...........................................................................12 2.2.1 – The History/Political Context of PE Curriculum in Canada ............................... 12 2.2.2 History/Political Context of Sexuality Curriculum in Canada .............................. 19 2.2.3 Historical/Political Context of HPE Curriculum in Brazil .................................... 24 2.2.4 Historical/Political Context of Sexuality Curriculum in Brazil ............................. 28 2.3.1 Governmentality in HPE ........................................................................................ 32 2.4 Biopedagogies in Cross-Cultural Education ......................................................................34 2.4.1 Biopedagogy and Public Pedagogies: Canadian and Brazilian Perspectives ........ 38 2.5 Critical Media Literacy in HPE: A Tool for Contesting Gendered Norms .......................41 2.6 Thick Desire & Pleasure: Extending Biopedagogies of the Body .....................................44 2.7 Theorizing Pleasure and Play.............................................................................................46 2.8 Conclusions