I am a male English teacher. On my universe course of a 100 or so undergraduates, I was one of a dozen men. On my teacher training course, I was on of two (that made it.) And for my A-Levels, I was the only male (who took psychology, at least!) It seems the teaching of English is a field dominated by women.
But I look at the author posters in the room around me. 80% are male authors. I read recently, but have lost the link, of how literature by women receives harsher criticism than that by men. As VS Naipaul (click for link) continues to suggest that women can not be his literary comparison (although, compared to George Elliot, his cultural impact is minor – even with his Nobel prize.)
When analysing an article, two lads suggested that even though it was written by a man, it seemed to be written in a style that they would associate with a woman. What is a ‘feminine’ style of writing? What characterises gender in writing? Does it even matter? Is it a sexist question to even ask in a school? Does that even matter?
The writer (and a similar article he has written) is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/dog-have-owners-dont-judge-the-breed
What do you think?
