| Autor: |
Halim MLD; Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA, 90840-0901, USA. Mayling.halim@csulb.edu., Walsh AS; Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA., Tamis-LeMonda CS; Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University, New York, NY, USA., Zosuls KM; The Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA., Ruble DN; Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Children's gender-stereotypical dress and appearance might be one of the first representations of children's emerging sense of gender identity. Gender self-socialization theories posit that as children become more aware of gender categories, they become motivated to adhere to gender stereotypes, such as by expressing interest in dressing in feminine or masculine ways. Socialization theories predict that children's gender-typed appearance reflects parents' choices. For example, gender-traditional parents might dress their children in gender-stereotypical ways. At the same time, dressing in gender-stereotypical ways might contribute to children's growing awareness of gender categories. The current study investigated the factors associated with gender-typed appearance among 175 (87 girls, 88 boys) Mexican American, Dominican American, and African American 2-year-olds. We examined both child and parent contributions to early gender-typed appearance. To measure children's early conceptual understanding of gender categories, we assessed children's use and recognition of gender verbal labels. To examine the influence of parent socialization, we assessed mothers' gender-role attitudes. Children's gender-typed appearance was observed and coded during an assessment. Surprisingly, mothers' gender-role attitudes were not significantly associated with toddlers' gender-typed appearance. However, toddlers' gender labeling was associated with their gender-typed appearance, suggesting that self-socialization processes can be found as early as 24 months of age. |
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