Taking a view of identity as a discoursal participation in figured worlds, this chapter draws upon data collected during a longitudinal, small-scale research project, exploring the relationship between creative writing and boys’ identities as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. Using language-context discourse analysis, creative writing from six of the boys is analyzed in order to illustrate the ways in which the creative text can open up a space for hybrid discourses with identity enactments that disrupt hegemonic masculinity. This radical potential for boys to enact other identities through creative writing is seen as being related to the pedagogy adopted by the teacher. Accordingly, an argument is made: against a restrictive backdrop of a neoconservative curriculum and global neoliberalism’s state-controlled decontrol, it is only through pedagogies that involve weaker framing and choice that boys can realize other ways of being.
Part of the book: Gender Differences in Different Contexts