POPE ATTACKS BLURRING OF GENDER: IDENTIDADE DE GÊNERO E LEITURA CRÍTICA NA SALA DE AULA DE LÍNGUAS ESTRANGEIRAS

Abstract

Language, in its different manifestations (written, audiovisual, body language, etc.), is an indispensable symbolic resource for the construction of possible ‘realities’ and identities and for the mediation of social activities performed by social groups in specific social contexts (GEE, 2000). Through genres, people act in the world in order to favor certain social practices instead of others. In a critical perspective, the teacher of languages is in charge of promoting debates in the classroom by questioning hegemonic social practices, such as those regarding the role of women in society as well as the dominant hetero/homosexual stereotypes, to denaturalize common-sense ideologies (FAIRCLOUGH, 1992). The objective of this work is to analyze critically the text ‘Pope attacks blurring of gender’, as a way of discussing gender identity in the context of a foreign language classroom. To accomplish this objective, we will explore two general questions, adapted from Meurer (2002), to guide teachers during their critical pedagogical analysis of the text, previously to the elaboration of reading activities: 1) How does the author (re)present the concept of gender to the reader? Which discourses are involved in the text? Do such discourses reinforce or criticize a traditional view of gender? 2) Which identities and social roles this text reflects or provokes? Some implications about exploring the concept of gender in the classroom and the need for a critical perspective on language teaching will be discussed in the last part of the paper.