In this article, we draw on previous reports from physics, science education,
and women's studies to propose a more nuanced treatment of gender in physics
education research (PER). A growing body of PER examines gender differences in
participation, performance, and attitudes toward physics. We have three
critiques of this work: (1) it does not question whether the achievements of
men are the most appropriate standard, (2) individual experiences and student
identities are undervalued, and (3) the binary model of gender is not
questioned. Driven by these critiques, we propose a conception of gender that
is more up-to-date with other fields and discuss gender-as-performance as an
extended example. We also discuss work on the intersection of identities [e.g.,
gender with race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) status], much of which has been conducted outside of
physics. Within PER, some studies examine the intersection of gender and race,
and identify the lack of a single identity as a key challenge of "belonging" in
physics. Acknowledging this complexity enables us to further critique what we
term a binary gender deficit model. This framework, which is implicit in much
of the gender-based PER, casts gender as a fixed binary trait and suggests that
women are deficient in characteristics necessary to succeed. Alternative models
of gender allow a greater range and fluidity of gender identities, and
highlight deficiencies in data that exclude women's experiences. We suggest new
investigations that diverge from this expanded gender framework in PER.Comment: 27 pages, accepted to Phys. Rev. Special Topics - PE