Unpacking 'gender issues' research

In this paper, I unpack my own understandings, definitions, and queries about “sex”, “gender”, and “gender issues” research – both broadly and with regard to mathematics education research and the discipline of mathematics specifically. These theoretical discussions are then applied to my recently completed doctoral research project, which investigated elementary students’ views of mathematics and mathematicians, and how those views may be impacted by parents’ views, teachers’ views, and popular media representations. Namely, I discuss my decision to use gendered categories in my research, and describe how these categories were salient in my data collection and analysis. I conclude by posing questions that still trouble me as I continue with my research, trying to balance my theoretical and pragmatic concerns. In so doing, I hope to problematize readers’ views of gender and the way these views underscore their gender-related research in mathematics.