'Doing boy/girl' and global/local elements in 10-12 year olds' drawings and written texts

This article explores the relevance of global/local to understanding ways of 'doing boy/girl' (Butler, 1999; Connell, 2005; Haywood and Mac an Ghiall, 2003) and the contribution that visual sociology can make to this. Using quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse 10-12 year olds' texts and drawings, the article concludes that despite the highly globalized and rapidly changing nature of the society, Ireland is still very far away from a situation where: 'What gender identity is, and how it is expressed, has become itself a matter of multiple options' (Giddens, 1991: 81). It suggests that globalization supports hegemonic ways of 'doing boy' and that global elements can be used to extend the repertoire of ways of 'doing girl'. It also suggests that drawings can provide insights into the way in which global idioms become part of young people's perception of each other and their world.