Abstract
Certain kinds of extracurriculars develop interpersonal, leadership, and participatory
skills that are important to citizenship and politics (Niemi and Junn 1998, ch. 5; Glanville 1999).
In this research, we focus on simulated legislative debate and ask how such activities might
contribute to persistent gender differences observed in elite political participation in
adulthood. Specifically, we analyze the gender dynamics, interaction and success of
students participating in a national competition of legislative debate. Data come from the
2001 John C. Stennis National Student Congress sponsored by the National Forensic
League (NFL). Women are distinctly under-represented among participants and are
significantly less successful in the competition. The young women are less likely to exhibit
behaviors high in verbal and nonverbal dominance, but those who engage in aggressive
verbal behavior – rebutting and referencing others – are more likely to be successful. The
competitive simulation of legislative debate reproduces gender status hierarchies and rewards
masculine behavior in political learning.
Convention