Despite improvements in girls'' relative academic success at the school leaving level, and despite suggestions in the press that boys are now the underachievers, girls remain second-class citizens in education and beyond. This book aims to show how and why girls'' education remains subordinated to that of the boys'', and to demonstrate how this analysis can be used as a basis for investigating the position of other subordinated groups - such as children from lower socio-economic groups, ethnic minorities, or those with special educational needs. By focusing on what distinguishes the ''normal'' from the ''other'' says the author, we can begin to call the normal into question and challenge the ideas and assumptions of our educational system.