Gender and territoriality in games played by nine- to twelve-year-old schoolchildren

Taking recent ethnomethodological insights into gender as an ongoing interactional accomplishment as a starting point, a research group conducted an ethnographic exploration of the practices of gender differentiation among nine- to twelve-year-old schoolchildren in Germany. This article deals with a small segment of these practices: spontaneous territorial games, characterized by a high degree of physical activity in which the children split up into gender-homogeneous teams. Based on the detailed analysis of two recess situations, the article explores how gender-defined territories are achieved interactionally and how gender polarity is thus staged. The concluding play-theoretical reflections in particular show that territorial games simplify, alienate, and aestheticize gender arrangements.