Cyberbullying is a major issue within school. Heads of school admit this type of violence hard to predict, teachers are often blind to these underlying facts, families give in to the social injunction buying their teenager a mobile. While this is currently the case in French secondary schools, the phenomenon is spreading to many countries.

A proliferation of studies on the subject have documented this phenomenon since the early 2000s, mainly from a psychological perspective. It has been highlighted that part of cyberbullying is closely tied to the gender matrix through sexism, LGBTphobia and heteronormativity (Ringrose & al., 2013; Varela & al., 2021). In France, after the original work of Blaya (2011, 2013, 2018) we have taken up this topic according to the orientation of gender studies in the educational field (Couchot-Schiex, 2017; Couchot-Schiex & Moignard, 2020; Richard & Couchot-Schiex, 2020). While the term cyberbullying was popularised in the early 2000s (Belsey, 2004), agreement on a stable scientific definition is still lacking. There is, however, a consensus on certain features characterising the phenomenon, in particular the gendered identification of the roles of aggressor versus victim. While it is well established that half or even two thirds of aggressors are boys operating alone or in groups, the analyses do not always lead to a gendered interpretation of the operating mechanisms which we strive to incorporate into our studies.

Since 2016, we have conducted three studies in secondary schools (age range 11-16 years old) mapping this phenomenon among young people. This led us to set out elements of a definition in the French context (Couchot-Schiex & Richard, 2021), of what cybersexism might be. Thus, we are now able to describe this dynamic social phenomenon and bring out the underlying mechanisms. While there are strong characteristics of this phenomenon that are widely shared across schools, one of the interesting findings is that the amount of variation is strongly influenced by the context of students' lives, by their family and social anchors, which are locally situated, thus echoing some previous analyses on the importance of contexts on gendered socialisation, particularly for homophobic attitudes and behaviour (Anderson, 2011).

The paper aims to attest the reality of this phenomenon, as part of the socialisation among young people. The presentation will focus on some striking results of the image of cybersexism among pupils at school, identify the underlying gender mechanisms, and pinpoint the major developments from the latest survey.

The first study was carried out in 2015-2016 with 1130 pupils aged 12-16, the second in 2018-2019 with 3409 pupils aged 11-15, and the third, still ongoing, with 660 pupils aged 11-16, from one school. The current survey pursues the intersecting perspectives of students, staff (including teachers and other professionals) and families within a secondary school in France. Data are collected from questionnaires and interviews. A specific questionnaire has been administered to each part of the study population: pupils, professionals, families. They collect school climate representations, digital word representations and practices, and measure the prevalence of sexist, homophobic and sexual on the one hand about cyberviolence on line and on social networks, and on the other hand, about bullying within school. The questionnaire for the students’ sample was administered in class, on tablets. It consists of 132 closed-ended variables allowing students to give their opinion on the school climate in their school and to self-report on victimisation experienced since the beginning of the school year in their school. The questions systematically begin with "since the beginning of the school year, in your school...". Questionnaires for professionals and families were administrated on line. Their completion is still in progress. Interviews were restricted to students (group and individual interviews) and staff. They aim to characterize bullying situations and their interrelations with the digital sociability of teenagers in a gender perspective. We also address emotional relationships and stereotypes related to gender and sexuality. At this time, the inventory of the prevalence of sexism and cybersexism is based on the results of the students’ questionnaire. Additional insight may be gained from the results of staff and families’ questionnaires (available in may).

Sexism should be seen as an integral part of socialisation from an early age. While early adolescence is a key time for the reinforcement of gendered positions and the rejection of certain alternative experiences or behaviours, adult socialisation, particularly in the professional context, should not be neglected. Although the student and staff populations are clearly separated by specific positions, a porosity exists and the interactions between these two groups are sensitive to the broader context of the school climate of the institution and the local geographical and socio-political context. Outcomes will focus on some striking results of the image of sexism and cybersexism among students. The comparison of the results of the three studies carried out in different contexts highlights the commonalities and specificities that may be linked to local contexts. Among the common characteristics, one strong point is that ordinary sexism is highly prevalent in schools: more than half of the girls receive the insult 'whore' at least once within 45 days (between the start of the school year and the first school holidays). Another characteristic is that the prevalence of ordinary sexism and sexist, homophobic and sexual violence within school is much higher than that via social networks. Finally, the rates of perceived school climate are very positive whereas the rates of sexist, homophobic and sexual victimisation can be alarming. An analysis of the underlying gender mechanisms is therefore essential. Among new focuses provided by the latest study we can highlight the importance of local context subculture values and behaviour, including religion values, the prominence of digital practices staging sexual practices and porn, including the youngest students (11 years old). The successive assessments allow us to confirm certain analyses of the underlying mechanisms and to propose new interpretations of this constantly evolving social phenomenon.

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