Overhaling i pencil skirt

– En undersøgelse af køn og akademiske tilblivelsesprocesser på et såkaldt kvindedomineret studie

Abstract

The majority of university students in Denmark today are women, but the proportion of women in academia gradually diminishes from PhD-level and upward. Based on post structuralist theories on gender and positioning, this article explores how gender connects to the notion of a “proper and academically skilled student”, and how it is performed among psychology students. On the basis of group interviews with 12 psychology students, I examine how gender is embedded in exchanges of everyday experiences related to themes such as categorization of psychology students, social relations, sexualisations, distribution of speaking time, and movements towards the future. Appearances and interests recognised as female are expressed as opposed to the notion of a “proper and academically competent psychology student”, even though psychology is widely perceived as a “female-dominated” field of study. Thus, this article argues that we need to consider and question how processes of inclusion and exclusion are (re)produced wi- thin university culture, when we address issues related to diversity and equality in academia.