Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

“Pretty Is As Pretty Does:” Child Beauty Pageants In Deep East Texas, Taryn Lenert

Undergraduate Research Conference

Introduction

Do child beauty pageants affect contestants’ perception of gender norms, gender performance, and confidence? To answer this question, three observations of pageants, three face-to-face interviews, and survey responses from two East Texas pageant Facebook groups will be analyzed through the lens of West and Zimmerman’s theoretical concept of doing gender (1987). Deep East Texas is unique due to the fact that much of its culture originates in old southern views of beauty, the norm of hyper-femininity, and the importance of traditional gender roles in both public and private life.

Understanding The Relationship Between Gender And Self-Efficacy In Northeast Texas Public Schools, Abbie Strunc Ph.D., Kimberly Murray Ph.D.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Using a sample of 147 K-12 teachers in Northeast Texas, the authors examine the importance of gender for teachers, and if gender impacts his or her own feelings of self-efficacy, while controlling for demographic variables. Findings enhance scholars’ understanding of how men and women view themselves and their perceptions of their own self-efficacy in education. This research also merges the literature in education and sociology, providing an example of how interdisciplinary research can improve our understandings of social problems found within educational institutions.