Every now and then the feminisation of the teaching force is put forth as a barrier to reduce educational equality between the sexes. The feminisation of education is supposed to have a negative impact on boys' achievement, causing educational as well as behavioural problems. It is not just boys who allegedly suffer; over the years, the feminisation of education has been held responsible for countless other education-related problems and social crises. In the latest parliamentary and public discussions in the Netherlands, the failure of educational reforms in the second half of the twenty-first century is attributed to the feminisation of education. This time it is not too many female teachers, but a so-called "female pedagogy" that is to blame. It is assumed that women teachers have a different ("soft") approach to methodology, didactics and pedagogy than their male counterparts. We have sought historical evidence for this assumption by examining the rise and development of pedagogy within the teaching profession, using a content analysis of the professional association journal for the (teaching of) modern languages in secondary schooling. (Contains 3 tables and 1 note.)