Today I read this amazing article by an academic who I’ve been coming to really admire. Living in this new academic world has been introducing me to some absolutely incredible human beings, and one of the things I’ve been enjoying most is discovering research that makes me stop, think, and reflect on my own experiences.
Today, that article was Feminist Pedagogies in a Time of Backlash by Alice Elwell and Rachel Buchanan (2021).
The article explores the experiences of two female secondary school teachers in Queensland, both of whom identify as feminists, and the challenges they face when bringing their feminist values into their classrooms. The two participants, or informants as they are referred to in the article, are given the pseudonyms Cassidy and Sam.
And goodness, did these two women resonate with me.
I could see myself in both of them.
On one hand, there is the desire to happily exist within my comfort zone of being a feminist, openly and unapologetically. On the other, there is the very real understanding that being a teacher comes with expectations, responsibilities, and sometimes uncomfortable boundaries around what we can and cannot say.
Within my own classroom, my students know that I have strong feminist values. I don’t particularly hide them. In fact, they’re quite literally displayed on my classroom walls, which feature only female artists. My students also know that I will call out behaviours that belittle others, reinforce stereotypes, or devalue someone because of who they are.
But reading this article made me think a little more deeply about what that actually means for my teaching.
What are feminist pedagogies?
Elwell and Buchanan (2021) explain that feminist pedagogies are not one single teaching method, but rather a range of approaches that continue to develop and evolve. At their core, they seek to challenge traditional power structures in education, value students’ voices and experiences, recognise female role models, and create classrooms where social justice, equity, and meaningful change can occur.
And when I read this, I thought, well, isn’t that what so many of us are already trying to do?
Creating classrooms where students feel valued, where they can question the world around them, where different perspectives are welcomed, and where they learn to recognise inequality rather than simply accept it.
For me, this is particularly relevant as a Visual Arts teacher. Art provides opportunities to explore identity, power, representation, and the ways in which people experience the world differently. The artists we introduce, the artworks we examine, and the conversations we encourage all have the potential to challenge the narratives our students have grown up with.
And perhaps this is where my own feminist pedagogies have been sitting all along, even when I haven’t consciously given them that label.
A feminist upbringing
I also grew up in a very feminist household.
My father is a teacher, and throughout my upbringing, he was someone who would openly call out behaviours that devalued others. He has always been very clear about his feminist values, and remains so today.
Interestingly, he is also a man working in an industry dominated by women, teaching a subject that has historically been stereotyped as female: Home Economics.
And goodness, there’s a whole other tangent there that I will absolutely be blogging about another day!
But I think growing up with a father who openly challenged gender stereotypes shaped how comfortable I am identifying as a feminist today.
This is actually something that struck me when reading about Cassidy, one of the informants in Elwell and Buchanan’s (2021) research. Cassidy recalls having a male English teacher who was openly feminist, someone whose beliefs encouraged her to begin exploring feminism herself.
It reminded me that our understanding of feminism doesn’t necessarily begin with a textbook or a university lecture. Sometimes it begins with the people who raise us, the teachers who influence us, or the conversations we hear growing up.
And perhaps that is why I feel such a responsibility to model these values in my own classroom.
The uncomfortable side of being a feminist teacher
What I found particularly interesting was the contrast between Cassidy and Sam.
Cassidy is cautious about openly identifying as a feminist in her classroom. She worries about the negative associations attached to the word, the possibility of backlash, and the power imbalance between teachers and students. Instead, she attempts to demonstrate her feminist values through her teaching practices without necessarily naming them.
Sam, on the other hand, is much more comfortable identifying as a feminist. She openly challenges sexist, racist, and discriminatory behaviours and believes that teachers have a responsibility to model their values, while remaining conscious of the need to encourage critical thinking rather than impose their beliefs on students.
And I think this is where I sit somewhere between the two.
Like Sam, I am comfortable with my students knowing that I am a feminist. I believe that challenging discriminatory behaviours is part of my responsibility as an educator.
But like Cassidy, I am also conscious of the professional boundaries that exist within teaching.
I don’t want my students to simply adopt my beliefs because I am their teacher. I want them to develop the confidence and critical thinking skills to question the world around them and form their own informed perspectives.
And sometimes, navigating that distinction can be uncomfortable.
Elwell and Buchanan (2021) highlight this tension throughout their research, particularly the difficulty of maintaining a feminist identity while working within educational environments where female authority can be questioned and where challenging existing beliefs may result in conflict.
It also made me think about how often female teachers are expected to negotiate their authority differently from their male colleagues.
How often do we find ourselves needing to justify our decisions, explain our expertise, or carefully consider how assertive we can be before we are perceived negatively?
These are questions I find myself reflecting on, particularly as I continue to navigate my identity as both a teacher and an emerging academic.
The little moments that matter
One of my favourite aspects of the article was the discussion around the small, sometimes spontaneous moments in which feminist pedagogies emerge.
Elwell and Buchanan (2021) describe how both teachers found opportunities to challenge stereotypes and encourage meaningful conversations, often through moments that weren’t necessarily planned into their lessons.
And I love this.
Because teaching isn’t always about the perfectly planned lesson or the beautifully written unit plan.
Sometimes it’s about the conversation that happens when a student makes a comment, asks an unexpected question, or begins to recognise something they hadn’t considered before.
As a Visual Arts teacher, these moments happen regularly.
Artworks invite questions. They invite different interpretations. They encourage students to examine the world through perspectives that might be completely different from their own.
And sometimes, the most meaningful learning happens when we allow those conversations to unfold.
But there is another important point within the article that I don’t want to overlook.
Cassidy reflects on recognising gendered expectations within her own teaching, particularly noticing that she sometimes expected better behaviour from girls than boys.
That made me pause.
Because it is one thing to challenge the behaviours and assumptions of others, but it is another to recognise that we might also be contributing to the very stereotypes we are trying to dismantle.
Perhaps being a feminist educator isn’t simply about what we teach or what we believe. Perhaps it is also about having the willingness to critically examine ourselves, our expectations, and the decisions we make every day.
And I think that’s something worth sitting with.
So, where does that leave me?
I finished reading this article feeling both validated and challenged.
Validated because I could see aspects of my own teaching identity reflected in the experiences of Cassidy and Sam.
Challenged because it reminded me that feminist pedagogies require more than simply identifying as a feminist or displaying female artists on my classroom walls.
They require reflection, thoughtful conversations, an awareness of power, and a willingness to recognise when our own practices might need to change.
I also think there is something rather lovely about being introduced to research that makes you feel a little less alone in your experiences.
As I continue moving between my worlds of teaching, university tutoring, and research, I’m finding myself increasingly drawn to the stories of other educators. Their experiences remind me that the questions I ask myself about my teaching are often questions being asked by others, too.
And perhaps that’s one of the things I’m enjoying most about this new academic world.
Discovering people whose work challenges me to think a little differently, reflect a little more deeply, and continue growing as an educator.
Because if there’s one thing I took away from this article, it’s that we don’t need to have all the answers to make a difference.
Sometimes, we just need to be willing to ask the uncomfortable questions.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s where change begins.
Want to read more?
If this reflection has sparked your curiosity, I encourage you to read the article by Alice Elwell and Rachel Buchanan. Their research offers a fascinating insight into the experiences of feminist teachers, the challenges they navigate, and the small but meaningful ways they create change within their classrooms.
Read their article here: Feminist Pedagogies in a Time of Backlash
Reference
Elwell, A., & Buchanan, R. (2021). Feminist pedagogies in a time of backlash. Gender and Education, 33(2), 156–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2019.1680810
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