Needing to be ‘in the know’: strategies of subordination used by 10-11 year old school boys

Derek:

Well he’s like, he acts sometimes like/

Calvin:

A girl/

Derek:

A girl/

Sinclair:

He doesn’t like sport, he doesn’t like computer games/

Calvin:

He does like computer/

Derek:

No, he plays all the crap ones, he plays all the crap ones/

Sinclair:

There’s this helicopter game/

Derek:

No, there’s this 2-D helicopter game, you have to shoot these
things/

Sinclair:

And he sort of, like, works on how to use the computer and not just
all games on the computer and doing other stuff/

Calvin:

This is his idea of breaktime: practise his music notes, either the
computer room, or practising his instrument, he’s like/

Derek:

He doesn’t enjoy it either

Calvin:

He doesn’t enjoy life, it’s like he doesn’t want to enjoy life, ‘cos he
doesn’t mix with other people, he doesn’t try to get friends [ ... ],
he doesn’t try to at all

Derek:

He just gives up/

Calvin:

He just gives up ...and he’s like, he even admits/

Sinclair:

He doesn’t like football, he doesn’t like any sports apart from golf/

Calvin:

He’s different from everyone else

JS:

Yeah, but/

Derek:

He’s just one person/

Calvin:

And he likes to be by himself very often

JS:

What do you mean, he’s like a girl

Sinclair:

Well/

Calvin:

Well he does everything/

Derek:

Well he doesn’t really act like a boy/

Calvin:

He’s very prudish/

JS:

Let’s hear from Sinclair

Sinclair:

He’s always sort of like...when you call him a girl he’s just/