Gender Differences in the Fictional Narratives of Young Children

• In Event: 31.091 - Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: 31.091-19 - Early Literacy Development

Abstract

Gender development in the early childhood years has been explored in a variety of contests, including toy choices, play partners, and pretend play. Less emphasis has been placed on the internal lives of boys and girls and their representations of gender and stereotypical gender roles. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend earlier findings indicating that boys and girls understand and represent different social worlds in their fictional narratives. The original stories of 75 young children (28 girls) were examined for indicators of narrative competence and story characteristics. Significant gender differences were found in emotional representation, characters’ genders, and characters’ actions. A model of gender bias was proposed as a template for gender expression in children’s stories.

Author

• Lynn Dietrich, University of Washington - Seattle