Feminization of arts participation and extracurricular activities? Gender differences in cultural capital and bullying victimization

• Activities defined as culturally dominant and valuable change over time, especially among adolescents.
• Club-based and academic extracurricular activity participation was associated with increased odds of bullying victimization for male students.
• Although it is a traditionally male domain, there were no gender differences in bullying victimization based on sports participation.
• Studying gender differences in cultural capital and bullying victimization reveals the significance of masculinity for students in U.S. high schools.

The study of gender differences in arts participation is extensive. Research on cultural capital often includes arts participation, but can also include participation in sports and extracurricular activities, particularly for youth in the United States. Far less research has examined the relationship between arts participation, other forms of cultural capital, and being the victim of bullying. Previous studies suggest that dominant definitions of masculinity help to explain the importance of gender in this relationship. We analyzed data from the 2002 Education Longitudinal Study to assess the extent to which male students were bullied in connection with participation in cultural activities often perceived to lack masculinity. We found that participation in clubs/academic extracurricular activities were associated with increased odds of bullying victimization for male students. On the other hand, participation in music courses was associated with increased odds of victimization for all students. Additionally, participation in varsity athletics was associated with decreased odds of victimization for all students. These findings suggest which cultural activities are stigmatized and for whom among a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school sophomores.