Parents' Preference for Gender Stereotypes in Children's Books

Carla Abad

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Barton, Michelle

Keywords

Gender, Stereotypes, Children's books

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that gender stereotypes are prevalent in preschool children and that books have the potential to challenge them. Recently, gender neutral and gender atypical books have increased in numbers; however, it is unknown whether parents would choose such books for their children. The current study explored parents� preference for children�s books in regards to gender stereotypes. Participants included 53 parents (47 women, 6 men) who were asked to complete a survey. The survey assessed how likely the parents would be to want each of their children to read stories that were either gender stereotypical, gender atypical, or gender neutral. Additionally, the survey included demographic questions and questions regarding the family�s reading habits. The results suggest that gender stereotypes do not influence parents� selection of books for their children. Different factors that might affect parents� choices of children�s books were explored and suggested.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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