Socialising Gender: The Role of Parents, Peers, and the Media in Children's Gender-Typed Preferences and Stereotypes

Within this thesis the environmental factors influencing children's gender-related cognitions are examined. Using multiple methods, the roles of parents, peers, and the media were investigated in relation to children's gender related attitudes and behaviour. The research draws on social learning theory (SLT: Bandura, 1986; Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961; Mischel 1966), social cognitive theory (SCT: Bussey & Bandura, 1999), social role theory (Eagly, 1987) and cognitive developmental theories of gender development (CDT: Bem, 1981, 1983; Kohlberg, 1966; Martin & Halverson, 1981) to explore how socialising agents in the environment, including children's cognitive selves, contribute to the development of gender-related knowledge and stereotypes. As social cognitive and cognitive developmental theories of gender have evolved they have become more integrative, acknowledging that both cognitive and environmental (as well as biological) factors are important in gender development (Martin, Halverson, & Szkrybalo, 2002). This thesis therefore draws on both approaches to comprehensively examine the role of socialising agents and cognitive processes on children's gender-related cognitions. Five studies were conducted using varied designs. Studies 1 (Chapter 6) and 2 (Chapter 7) focused on the role of parents in the socialisation of children's gender-related beliefs. Study 1 examined children's and parents' toy preferences and gender stereotypes in relation to toy colour and toy function. Results revealed that both girls and boys preferred toys stereotypic for their own gender in terms of both function and colour, to toys stereotypically associated with the other gender. Parents did not prefer one type of toy over another, but children predicted that their parents would possess the same toy preferences as themselves. Additionally, parents possessed more flexible gender stereotypes than children, and children's gender flexibility scores were negatively related to their gender constancy scores. Parents' reports of children's everyday play on the pre-school activities inventory (PSAI) revealed that boys engage in more masculine-typed play than girls, and boys' PSAI scores were negatively related to preference for feminine-function toys included as stimuli. Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining parents' and children's explicit and implicit gender stereotypes. As self-report questionnaires can be affected by social desirability, Study 2 employed eye-tracking techniques to examine whether parents and children displayed looking preferences towards masculine- and feminine-typed objects stereotypically associated with the gender of the character in an audio sentence. Findings supported predictions that parents and children would display similar implicit gender biases, but different explicit gender biases. Specifically, both parents and children displayed looking preferences towards the masculine-typed object when the character in the scene was a boy, and preferences toward the feminine-typed object when the character was a girl. This effect was stronger and more sustained in parents than children. However, in response to explicit measures, parents appeared not to endorse the gender stereotypes related to toys, instead appearing egalitarian as they did in Study 1, whilst children's responses were gender-stereotypic. Studies 3, 4, and 5, focused on the role of peers and the media in gender socialisation. Studies 3 (Chapter 8) and 4 (Chapter 9) examined the prevalence of gender stereotypic information in young children's magazines; a popular media format which has received little research attention. In Study 3, the front covers of children's magazines were analysed to examine the prevalence of gender stereotypic messages. A content analysis was performed on 106 magazine front covers across nine different magazines. Gender stereotypic information was coded in relation to colour schemes, number of male and female characters and character behaviour, and themes advertised. Results revealed that magazines aimed solely at boys or girls were presented in gender-stereotypic colours, girls' magazines contained more female than male characters whilst boys' magazines contained more male than female characters, female characters were more likely to demonstrate passive than active behaviour, and girls' magazine front covers contained no speaking characters. Additionally, the theme of appearance was far more prevalent than the theme of risk on the front of girls' magazines. Study 4 extended Study 3 by analysing the prevalence of gender stereotypic messages throughout entire magazines issues. A content analysis was undertaken on 42 new issues of the same nine magazines previously examined. Within each magazine, the extensive coding framework analysed the colour scheme, the number of male and female characters, character behaviour, and themes. In addition, how often children were instructed to ask for an adult's help with an activity, and the number of activities identified as educational was coded to examine if this differed according target audience. Key findings were that male characters were more active than female characters, males were more aggressive than females, significantly more activities were explicitly identified as educational in the boys' and neutral magazines compared to the girls' magazines, and instructions to ask for an adult's help were present significantly more in the girls' magazines than in both the boys' and neutral magazines. The themes of fashion and home also appeared significantly more in the girls' than the boys' magazines. Therefore, supporting Study 3, young children's magazines are edited differently in terms of both their style and content depending on whether they are aimed at girls, boys, or both boys and girls, reinforcing gender stereotypes. Following findings from Studies 3 and 4 that young children's magazines readily depict gender stereotyped content; Study 5 (Chapter 10) aimed to examine the impact of such media on the endorsement of gender-typed attitudes and behaviours. Specifically, the effect of stereotypic and counterstereotypic peer models presented in children's magazines on children's gender flexibility was investigated. Children were exposed to either stereotypic or counterstereotypic models via reader's pages of children's magazines and completed a number of measures of gender flexibility. Results revealed significantly greater gender flexibility around toy play and playmate choice among children in the counterstereotypic condition compared to the stereotypic condition. However, there was no difference in children's own toy preferences between the stereotypic and counterstereotypic condition, with children preferring more gender-typed toys overall. Therefore, the (counter)stereotypic behaviour of peer models presented in children's magazines affects gender flexibility in some domains but not others. The studies presented within this thesis show strong support for the role that social factors play in children's gender development. Studies 1 and 2 revealed that despite parents' explicit egalitarian views of gender-typed play, children did not predict that their parents would endorse cross-gender-typed play and eye-tracking revealed that parents' implicit gender biases in relation to toys were in fact stronger than their children's. This suggests that parents may be socialising children's gender stereotypes via verbal and/or non-verbal behaviour stemming from their unconscious biases. Studies 1 and 2 also support cognitive developmental theories of gender development in relation to gender schemas (Bem, 1981, 1983) and children's gender-related knowledge (Kohlberg, 1966), and highlight the role of toy colour and function in reinforcing gender stereotypes. Studies 3 and 4 provide further evidence for the socialisation of children's gender stereotypes via the media. Young children's magazines were found to portray highly gender-typed messages via colour, character behaviour, and themes, which differed according to the target audience, suggesting that children's exposure to these magazines may contribute to the development of gender stereotypes. The findings from these studies support social cognitive theory and social role theory of gender development, and speak to media cultivation theory. Study 5 uncovered how the behaviour of peer models in children's magazines can differentially affect children's gender flexibility in different domains, again speaking to socialisation theories of gender development, and the importance of exposure to counterstereotypic gender models in increasing gender flexible attitudes. The findings from Study 5 also indicate that children's magazines could be used as a successful basis for future intervention research. In conclusion, the studies in the present thesis provide strong support for the role of socialising agents in children's gender development. Toys, parents, peer models, and the media have all been shown to portray gender-typed information, and importantly, counterstereotypic models have been shown to encourage greater gender flexibility in children's attitudes. Applying an established eye-tracking paradigm to investigate children and parents' unconscious gender biases for the first time greatly contributes to the literature on implicit gender stereotypes, and the finding that educational activities are promoted significantly more in magazines aimed at boys than girls shows for the first time the impact that this media format may be having on children's aspirations and understanding of gender norms from such a young age. Further implications for theory, marketers, parents, educators, and future research are discussed in Chapter 11

Gender Stereotypes in Young Children’s Magazines

In two studies, we investigated the prevalence of gender stereotypes in print magazines targeted at 2- to 9-year-olds, analyzing three crucial and distinct aspects of children’s magazines: the front cover, the magazine content, and featured activities. Study 1 focused on the front covers of 106 children’s print magazines aimed at audiences of either girls, boys, or both boys and girls. Content analyses revealed that magazines aimed solely at boys or girls displayed gender-stereotypic colors and more same- than other-gender characters. Front covers aimed at girls contained no speaking characters and, compared to front covers aimed at boys, displayed more words related to appearance. Study 2 analyzed the content of 42 magazine issues. Magazines aimed at girls were most likely to incorporate the themes of fashion and home, to instruct the reader to ask for an adult’s help with an activity, and less likely to include activities labeled as educational than were magazines aimed at boys or both girls and boys. In contrast, magazines aimed at boys were most likely to incorporate the theme of jobs. Overall, findings suggest that gender stereotypical messages are embedded throughout young children’s magazines, which are tailored in their style and content based on their target audience

Children and parent’s looking preferences to gender-typed objects: Evidence from eye-tracking

Differences between children and parents’ implicit and explicit gender stereotypes were investigated in two experiments. For the first time, the visual world paradigm compared parents’ and 7-year-old children’s looking preferences towards masculine- and feminine-typed objects stereotypically associated with a story character’s gender. In Experiment 1, participants listened to sentences that included a verb that inferred intentional action with an object (e.g. ‘Lilly/Alexander will play with the toy”), and in Experiment 2 the verb was replaced with a neutral verb (e.g. ‘Lilly/Alexander will trip over the toy”). A questionnaire assessed participants’ explicit gender stereotype endorsement (and knowledge, Experiment 2) of children’s toys. Results revealed that parents and children displayed similar implicit, but different explicit, stereotypes to one another. In Experiment 1, both displayed looking preferences towards the masculine-typed object when the story character was male, and looking preferences toward the feminine-typed object when the character was female. No gender effects were found with a neutral verb in Experiment 2, reinforcing the impact of gender stereotypes on implicit processing, and showing that the effects are not simply driven by gender stereotypic name-object associations. In the explicit measure, parents did not endorse the gender stereotypes related to toys, but appeared egalitarian, whilst children’s responses were gender-stereotypic

Longitudinal Outcomes of Gender Identity in Children (LOGIC): protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study of children referred to the UK gender identity development service.

INTRODUCTION: Gender identity development services (GIDS) worldwide have seen a significant increase in referrals in recent years. Many of these referrals consist of children and young people (CYP) who experience gender-related distress. This study aims to improve understanding of outcomes of CYP referred to the UK GIDS, specifically regarding gender identity, mental health, physical health and quality of life. The impact of factors such as co-occurring autism and early social transition on outcomes over time will be explored. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a prospective cohort study of CYP aged 3-14 years when referred to the UK GIDS. Eligible participants will be ≤14 years at the time their referral was accepted and will be on the waitlist for the service when baseline measures are completed. Children aged under 12 years will complete the measures in an interview format with a researcher, while young people aged 12 years and over and their parents/caregivers will complete online or paper-based questionnaires. Participants will complete follow-up measures 12 months and 24 months later. The final sample size is expected to be approximately 500. Logistic regression models will be used to explore associations between prespecified explanatory variables and gender dysphoria. Appropriate regression models will also be used to investigate explanatory variables for other outcomes. Subgroup analyses based on birth-assigned gender, age at referral and co-occurring autistic traits will be explored. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Health Research Authority and London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee (reference: 19/LO/0857). The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at both conferences and stakeholder events. Findings will be used to inform clinical practice

Longitudinal Outcomes of Gender Identity in Children (LOGIC): study protocol for a retrospective analysis of the characteristics and outcomes of children referred to specialist gender services in the UK and the Netherlands.

INTRODUCTION: Specialist gender services for children and young people (CYP) worldwide have experienced a significant increase in referrals in recent years. As rates of referrals increase, it is important to understand the characteristics and profile of CYP attending these services in order to inform treatment pathways and to ensure optimal outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A retrospective observational study of clinical health records from specialist gender services for CYP in the UK and the Netherlands. The retrospective analysis will examine routinely collected clinical and outcome measures data including demographic, clinical, gender identity-related and healthcare resource use information. Data will be reported for each service and also compared between services. This study forms part of a wider programme of research investigating outcomes of gender identity in children (the Longitudinal Outcomes of Gender Identity in Children study). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The proposed study has been approved by the Health Research Authority and London-Hampstead Research Ethics Committee as application 19/LO/0181. The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at both conferences and stakeholder events

The Democratic Biopolitics of PrEP

PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a relatively new drug-based HIV prevention technique and an important means to lower the HIV risk of gay men who are especially vulnerable to HIV. From the perspective of biopolitics, PrEP inscribes itself in a larger trend of medicalization and the rise of pharmapower. This article reconstructs and evaluates contemporary literature on biopolitical theory as it applies to PrEP, by bringing it in a dialogue with a mapping of the political debate on PrEP. As PrEP changes sexual norms and subjectification, for example condom use and its meaning for gay subjectivity, it is highly contested. The article shows that the debate on PrEP can be best described with the concepts ‘sexual-somatic ethics’ and ‘democratic biopolitics’, which I develop based on the biopolitical approach of Nikolas Rose and Paul Rabinow. In contrast, interpretations of PrEP which are following governmentality studies or Italian Theory amount to either farfetched or trivial positions on PrEP, when seen in light of the political debate. Furthermore, the article is a contribution to the scholarship on gay subjectivity, highlighting how homophobia and homonormativity haunts gay sex even in liberal environments, and how PrEP can serve as an entry point for the destigmatization of gay sexuality and transformation of gay subjectivity. ‘Biopolitical democratization’ entails making explicit how medical technology and health care relates to sexual subjectification and ethics, to strengthen the voice of (potential) PrEP users in health politics, and to renegotiate the profit and power of Big Pharma

No Remdesivir Resistance Observed in the Phase 3 Severe and Moderate COVID-19 SIMPLE Trials

Remdesivir (RDV) is a broad-spectrum nucleotide analog prodrug approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with clinical benefit demonstrated in multiple Phase 3 trials. Here we present SARS-CoV-2 resistance analyses from the Phase 3 SIMPLE clinical studies evaluating RDV in hospitalized participants with severe or moderate COVID-19 disease. The severe and moderate studies enrolled participants with radiologic evidence of pneumonia and a room-air oxygen saturation of ≤94% or >94%, respectively. Virology sample collection was optional in the study protocols. Sequencing and related viral load data were obtained retrospectively from participants at a subset of study sites with local sequencing capabilities (10 of 183 sites) at timepoints with detectable viral load. Among participants with both baseline and post-baseline sequencing data treated with RDV, emergent Nsp12 substitutions were observed in 4 of 19 (21%) participants in the severe study and none of the 2 participants in the moderate study. The following 5 substitutions emerged: T76I, A526V, A554V, E665K, and C697F. The substitutions T76I, A526V, A554V, and C697F had an EC50 fold change of ≤1.5 relative to the wildtype reference using a SARS-CoV-2 subgenomic replicon system, indicating no significant change in the susceptibility to RDV. The phenotyping of E665K could not be determined due to a lack of replication. These data reveal no evidence of relevant resistance emergence and further confirm the established efficacy profile of RDV with a high resistance barrier in COVID-19 patients

Peer Toy Play as a Gateway to Children’s Gender Flexibility: The Effect of (Counter)Stereotypic Portrayals of Peers in Children’s Magazines

Extensive evidence has documented the gender stereotypic content of children’s media, and media is recognized as an important socializing agent for young children. Yet, the precise impact of children’s media on the endorsement of gender-typed attitudes and behaviors has received less scholarly attention. We investigated the impact of stereotypic and counter-stereotypic peers pictured in children’s magazines on children’s gender flexibility around toy play and preferences, playmate choice, and social exclusion behavior (n = 82, age 4–7 years-old). British children were randomly assigned to view a picture of a peer-age boy and girl in a magazine playing with either a gender stereotypic or counter-stereotypic toy. In the stereotypic condition, the pictured girl was shown with a toy pony and the pictured boy was shown with a toy car; these toys were reversed in the counter-stereotypic condition. Results revealed significantly greater gender flexibility around toy play and playmate choices among children in the counterstereotypic condition compared to the stereotypic condition, and boys in the stereotypic condition were more accepting of gender-based exclusion than were girls. However, there was no difference in children’s own toy preferences between the stereotypic and counter-stereotypic condition, with children preferring more gender-typed toys overall. Implications of the findings for media, education, and parenting practices are discussed, and the potential for counterstereotypic media portrayals of toy play to shape the gender socialization of young children is explored

Gender Stereotypes in Young Children’s Magazines

In two studies, we investigated the prevalence of gender stereotypes in print magazines targeted at 2– to 9-year-olds, analysing three crucial and distinct aspects of children’s magazines: the front cover, the magazine content, and featured activities. Study 1 focused on the front covers of 106 children’s print magazines aimed at audiences of either girls, boys, or both boys and girls. Content analyses revealed that magazines aimed solely at boys or girls displayed gender-stereotypic colours and more same- than other-gender characters. Front covers aimed at girls contained no speaking characters and, compared to front covers aimed at boys, displayed more words related to appearance. Study 2 analysed the content of 42 magazine issues. Magazines aimed at girls were most likely to incorporate the themes of fashion and home, to instruct the reader to ask for an adult’s help with an activity, and less likely to include activities labelled as educational than were magazines aimed at boys or both girls and boys. In contrast, magazines aimed at boys were most likely to incorporate the theme of occupations. Overall, findings suggest that gender stereotypical messages are embedded throughout young children’s magazines, which are tailored in their style and content based on their target audience