Postfeminist Education? - Critical of Contemporary School Discourses

In this review of Postfeminist Education? the reviewer finds a careful, research-driven critique aimed at educators, education researchers and policymakers concerned with gendered narratives in schools. The book's single biggest reason to buy is its focused analysis of how educational discourses fuel contemporary postfeminist panics about girls and girlhood; it lays out the mechanisms by which concerns about a masculinity crisis, mean girls and sexualized girlhood are translated into policy and media moral panics. The tone is analytic rather than polemical, making it useful for classroom discussion and curriculum studies.

Key Features

• Critical framing: The book provides a coherent critique of a contemporary postfeminist sensibility that assumes gender equality is already achieved, helping readers rethink common assumptions about progress.
• Link to educational discourse: It demonstrates how school debates and educational policies have directly fed into public anxieties about gender, offering concrete examples for scholars and practitioners.
• Three panics analysed: The text explores three widely circulated panics over girls and girlhood, giving readers a structured roadmap to understand recurring media narratives.
• Interdisciplinary approach: Drawing on media, policy and education studies, the book supports classroom reading and cross-disciplinary research projects.
• Accessible critique: The writing avoids dense jargon and foregrounds implications for schools and teachers, making academic ideas usable in practice.

Who It's For

This book is best for education researchers, graduate students in education and gender studies, school leaders and policymakers who need a compact, evidence-based critique of how educational narratives shape public debates about girls. It also suits teacher educators who want a theoretically informed text to structure seminars or reading groups.

Practitioners seeking lesson plans or step-by-step classroom activities should look elsewhere, as the book focuses on analysis and critique rather than prescriptive classroom materials. Readers expecting a broad popular-audience treatment may also find the academic framing denser than a mainstream magazine piece.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Clear interrogation of the assumption that gender equality is already achieved, which helps reframe policy questions.
• Detailed account of how educational discourses produce and amplify postfeminist anxieties about girls and boys.
• Useful for interdisciplinary study, linking media, policy and school practice in one concise volume.

Cons

• Not a practical classroom guide, so teachers wanting activities will need supplementary materials.

Specifications

Title	Postfeminist Education?
Subtitle	Foundations and Futures of Education
Author	Jessica Ringrose
Focus	Critique of postfeminist sensibility and educational discourse
Main themes	Masculinity crisis, mean girls, sexualized girlhood
Audience	Education researchers, policymakers, teacher educators

Our Verdict

Postfeminist Education? is a carefully argued, research-informed critique that is well worth buying for anyone studying how schools and education policy contribute to gendered moral panics. It delivers strong analytical value for curriculum studies and gender research, though readers seeking practical classroom resources should supplement it with applied materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book focus on boys as well as girls?
The author examines how debates about a masculinity crisis and failing boys feed into backlash narratives about girls, so boys are considered in relation to wider panics.

Is this suitable for undergraduate courses?
Yes, it can be used in upper-level undergraduates studying education theory or gender and education, especially alongside discussion prompts.

Will teachers find classroom activities inside?
No, the book prioritizes critique and analysis rather than providing lesson plans or step-by-step classroom activities.