Children’s Gender-Typed Behavior from Early to Middle Childhood in Adoptive Families with Lesbian,Gay, and Heterosexual Parents

Gender-typed behaviors—both gender-conforming and nonconforming—were investigated longitudinally among children in 106 adoptive U.S. families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents at two times (Wave 1, preschool-age; Wave 2, school-age) over 5 years. At Wave 1 (W1), parents reported on children’s gender-typed behavior using the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI; Golombok and Rust 1993), and children’s gender-typed toy play was evaluated using observational methods. At Wave 2 (W2), children reported on their own gender-typed behavior using the Children’s Occupations, Activities, and Traits Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler 2002). Observations of children’s gender-conforming toy play and parents’ reports of children’s gender nonconformity (PSAI) in early childhood (W1) were associated with children’s self-reports of gender nonconformity (COAT-PM) in middle childhood (W2); toy play was most strongly predictive of gender nonconformity 5 years later. Children’s gender-typed behavior also varied by age and gender at both time points, but no significant differences were found as a function of parental sexual orientation across time. Informative to ongoing debates about same-sex parenting, our findings indicate that among children reared by lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents, gender-typing appears to be similar, and predominantly gender-conforming, across early to middle childhood.     

What Do We Know About Gay and Lesbian Couples?

Abstract— Research on gay and lesbian couples is highlighted with regard to household labor, conflict, satisfaction, perceived social support, stability, and the variables that predict relationship quality. Relative to partners from married heterosexual couples, partners from gay and lesbian couples tend to assign household labor more fairly, resolve conflict more constructively, experience similar levels of satisfaction, and perceive less support from family members but more support from friends. The limited data available indicate that gay and lesbian couples may be less stable than married heterosexual couples. The factors that predict relationship quality tend to be the same for gay, lesbian, and heterosexual married couples. Overall, research paints a positive picture of gay and lesbian couples and indicates that they tend to be more similar to than different from heterosexual couples.     

Children’s Gender-Typed Activity Choices Across Preschool Social Contexts

Variability in children’s gender-typed activity preferences was examined across several preschool social contexts--solitary play, interactions with female peers, male peers, and both, and interactions with teachers. Participants were preschool children (N?=?264; 49?% girls, M age?=?52?months, range 37–60) attending Head Start classes in the Southwest United States. Seventy-three percent were Mexican/Mexican-American, and 82?% of families earned less than $30,000 per year. Children’s preferences for gender-typed activities varied as a function of their own gender and the identity of their interactional partners. Girls and boys preferred gender-typed activities (e.g., girls preferred feminine activities) when in solitary play but activity preferences changed across social contexts. Specifically, girls played significantly more with masculine activities when with male peers and boys played significantly more with feminine activities during interactions with teachers. Findings suggest that through social interactions with peers and teachers, children are exposed to a greater range of activities than what they experience when they play by themselves.     

African American, White and Latino Fathers’ Activities with their Sons and Daughters in Early Childhood

We examined the activities that low-income, ethnically diverse fathers of sons versus daughters engage in with their children in the preschool years. African American, Latino, and White fathers (N?=?426) from research sites across the United States, were interviewed about their caregiving, play, literacy, and visiting activities when their children were 2?years, 3?years, and preschool age. Fathers of boys engaged more frequently in physical play than fathers of girls, whereas fathers of girls engaged more frequently in literacy activities. Moreover, gendered patterns of father engagement were already evident at the 2-year assessment, suggesting that fathers channel their children toward gender-typed activities well before their children have a clear understanding of gender roles. Ethnic differences were also found in fathers’ activities with children, and child gender moderated ethnic patterns of behavior. For example, Black fathers of sons reported the highest levels of engagement in caregiving, play and visiting activities, and both Latino and African American fathers of sons engaged in more visiting activities compared to White fathers of sons. Fathers’ education and marital status were also associated with fathers’ activities. Married fathers and those with a high school diploma more frequently engaged in literacy activities than unmarried fathers without a diploma; moreover, although Latino fathers engaged less in caregiving activities than African American and White fathers, this difference attenuated after controlling for differences in fathers’ education. The activities children share with their fathers vary by child gender, race/ethnicity, and family circumstances and offer insight into early gendered experiences in the family.     

Halloween Costume Choices: Reflections of Gender Development in Early Childhood

The author examined whether preschoolers’ Halloween costume choices reflect their gender development. The sample consisted of 110 (53 boys, 57 girls) infant through preschool-aged participants, and 1 parent of each child. Both observational methodologies and parent-report surveys were used to assess the gender-typed nature of children's Halloween costumes, information about the Halloween costume choice process, and about the children's gender development. Boys’ costumes were more masculine and girls’ costumes were more feminine. Younger children's costumes were consistently less gender typed than the older children's costumes were. Children whose parents chose their Halloween costumes for them had Halloween costumes that were less gender typed than did children who were involved in the Halloween costume decision-making process. Moreover, children's gender-typed play and desire to wear gender-stereotyped clothes were related to the gender stereotyped nature of their Halloween costume. Unexpectedly, gender typicality, a dimension of gender identity, was not related to children's Halloween costume choices. Overall, the findings support that children's Halloween costume choice is an indicator of children's gender development processes.     

Facial resemblances between heterosexual, gay, and lesbian couples

Researchers have noted a physical resemblance (homophily) between human sex partners. To date, these studies and their related interpretations have been based on heterosexual couples. The present study compared physical resemblances between gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples, using 40 photographs of each from national newspapers, which were rated by 34 men and 56 women (M age = 53 yr., SD = 12.1). Half the photographs were of actual couples and half were randomly mixed within each group. Actual couples were rated as significantly more similar in appearance than random pairings of people. Ratings of similarity were significantly higher (indicating greater perceived homophily) for gay couples than heterosexual couples, while there was no statistically significant difference in similarity ratings between lesbian couples versus gay and heterosexual couples. The results were interpreted in terms of evolutionary and parental imprinting hypotheses.     

Mother–Father–Child Triadic Interaction and Mother–Child Dyadic Interaction: Gender Differences Within and Between Contexts

Differences in mother and father behavior during a triadic interaction session, and differences in mothers’ behavior across triadic and dyadic interaction, were examined in 60 two-parent families with an 11- to 15-month-old child (30 boys, 30 girls). Results revealed that mothers were less involved, less sensitive, and more negative during triadic than during dyadic interaction. Mothers of sons displayed more emotion during triadic interaction than mothers of daughters did. Mothers were more involved with children than fathers were during triadic interaction, whereas fathers displayed more emotion than mothers did during triadic interaction. Fathers were more supportive of mothers, and mothers were more intrusive toward fathers, during triadic interaction. The results are discussed in terms of the role that context plays in gender-typed patterns of family interaction.     

Family and couples therapy with gay and lesbian clients: acknowledging the forgotten minority

Family and couples therapy in the main concentrates on heterosexual clients, and has thus been described as limited in its outlook, or discriminatory. It is argued that family and couples therapy is at present not offered to gay and lesbian clients because of an absence of appropriate referrals, the inability of therapists to recognize the sexual orientation of their clients, a belief that skills held by therapists are not appropriate for this client group, or because of the homophobia of the therapist. It is suggested that family and couples therapy should be more readily available for gay and lesbian clients, and a number of different issues which these families might face are discussed. This includes problems associated with the gay adolescent and the gay or lesbian parent, as well as the gay or lesbian couple. It is concluded that established forms of intervention are effective with gay clients, provided that the specific needs and problems of the gay and lesbian community are addressed by the therapist.     

Mothers of transgender youth experience stigma-by-association

The current research investigated whether mothers of transgender youth experience stigma-by-association. Mturk participants (N = 489) were randomly assigned to read a vignette about a family in which the social identity (transgender, gay/lesbian, cisgender/heterosexual control) and gender (girl, boy) of a child was manipulated, while all other information was held constant. Results revealed stigma targeting mothers as a function of children's social identity (but not gender), such that mothers of transgender girls and boys were viewed substantially more negatively than identical mothers of cisgender/heterosexual youth. Moreover, this stigma was particularly robust among politically conservative participants. In contrast, mothers of gay/lesbian youth did not encounter systematic stigma, though they were sometimes perceived more negatively than mothers of cisgender/heterosexual youth. Results provide novel experimental evidence of stigma-by-association targeting mothers of transgender youth and raise serious concerns about the treatment of parents who seek to affirm their transgender children.     

Relationships between Gender Role Attitudes, Role Division, and Perception of Equity among Heterosexual, Gay and Lesbian Couples

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between gender role attitudes, household tasks, and the perception of equity among heterosexual, gay and lesbian couples. One hundred and twenty-four participants (54 heterosexuals, 30 gay men and 40 lesbians) were tested. It was found that same-sex couples had more liberal attitudes toward gender roles than did heterosexual couples. In addition, significant differences were found between the spouses in their responses regarding role division in housekeeping in each group. The responses of heterosexual spouses correlate more closely with each other regarding the role of each of the spouses than was the case for same-sex couples. However, the role division among lesbian couples was more egalitarian than that of heterosexual couples. In addition, heterosexual women consider their married life less equitable than heterosexual men do. Similarly, one of the gay spouses considers the relationship less equitable than the other spouse does. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance to theories of social perception and cultural backgrounds.     

Experienced and Expected Similarity to Same-Gender Peers: Moving Toward a Comprehensive Model of Gender Segregation

Gender segregation is often explained by children being interested in interacting with other children who behave similarly to themselves. Children??s beliefs about girls and boys (i.e., their gender cognitions) may also play a role in gender segregation, but this idea has received little attention. In this study, we proposed a model of gender segregation that included similarity on gender-typed behavioral qualities (e.g., rough and tumble play) and gender cognitions concerning perceived similarity to same-gender others, and we assessed whether this more comprehensive heuristic model predicted observed peer interactions in young U.S. children (n?=?74; M age = 51 m; middle-class families). A multi-method design was employed including observations of behavior and child reports of gender cognitions. Support was found for the linkages proposed in this comprehensive model for boys; partial support was found for girls. Specifically, the inclusion of gender cognitions was supported for both genders: gender cognitions about perceived similarity related to interactional partner choices for both girls and boys, and accounted for variance in observed partner choices even after behavioral similarity was included in the model. The traditional link concerning behavioral similarity on rough-and-tumble play predicted boys?? but not girls?? interactions. The findings extend knowledge about the role of social cognitions in social behavior, and are consistent with ideas proposed by gender schema theory and other constructivist theories.     

Heterosexual, Lesbian, and Gay Preadoptive Parents’ Preferences About Child Gender

Little research has explored the child gender preferences of preadoptive parents. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach to explore child gender preferences (and individuals’ reasons for such preferences) in a geographically diverse, US sample of 93 heterosexual, 61 lesbian, and 48 gay male preadoptive couples. Heterosexual men were the least likely to demonstrate a gender preference and gay men were the most likely. Individuals in heterosexual relationships were more likely to prefer girls than individuals in same-gender relationships. In explaining their preferences, sexual minorities often emphasized gender socialization considerations (e.g., their perceived inability to socialize a child of the opposite gender) and concerns about heterosexism (e.g., some gay men preferred girls because they felt a boy would encounter more harassment).     

The Variability and Flexibility of Gender-Typed Toy Play: A Close Look at Children's Behavioral Responses to Counterstereotypic Models

Gender differences in play behavior are well documented. However, little work has examined the issue of variability of gender-typed behaviors within individuals or within genders. We investigated whether children's gender-typed toy play behavior is (a) variable across time within individuals, and (b) variable in response to exposure to counterstereotypic models. Extensive observations (N=203) were made of 8 highly gender-typed preschool children over 4 months. Variability was assessed by examining changes in the percentage of masculine and feminine toy play across successive days in which (a) gender neutral stories were read (within-individual variability) and (b) gender counterstereotypic stories were introduced (environmental variability). Variability of gender-typed play within individuals and in response to environmental stimuli was found among girls, but not among boys.     

Correlates of self-worth in preschoolers: The role of gender-stereotyped styles of behavior

It was hypothesized that gender-stereotyped styles of social interaction are apparent as early as the preschool years, and that the use of these gender-stereotyped behaviors is associated with the child's perceived competence and social support. Using a story-completion method with 47 white middle-class preschoolers, the results of the study confirmed the hypotheses. Boys were more likely to use the male-stereotyped styles of domination and intrusion, while girls were more likely to use the female-stereotyped styles of affiliation and inclusion. In addition, the use of male gender-stereotyped behaviors among boys was significantly related to perceived physical competence and peer acceptance. For girls, use of the female gender-stereotyped behavior of Affiliation was related to perceived cognitive competence and, weakly, to perceived maternal acceptance. For both sexes, use of the feminine-stereotyped behavior of Inclusion was negatively related to competence and acceptance variables.     

Princesses,Princes, and Superheroes: Children's Gender Cognitions and Fictional Characters

The goal of the present study was to identify whether children recognize the gender stereotypes prevalent within the increasingly popular princess, prince, and superhero characters. Interviews with 126 children from the northeast region of the Unites States (3–11 years old) indicated that children recognized the gender-typed personality traits of princesses, princes, and superheroes, with older children holding more gender-typed cognitions about the characters. Children's own-schemas (i.e., beliefs that apply to themselves) and superordinate schemas (i.e., include beliefs about others' preferences and behaviors) for the characters were mostly gender typed and congruent. Older children gender-typed princesses as for girls more than younger children, whereas older children considered superheroes to be for boys and girls more than younger children did. Older children also considered the characters to be for them less, potentially reducing the negative implications of exposure to gender-typed messages associated with the characters. Individual differences exist in children's perceptions of these fictional characters, with children's own androgyny being positively correlated with their perceptions of princesses' androgyny levels. Further, girls were more flexible in their stereotyping of princesses, noting they were “for girls and boys” more. The authors discuss the results' practical and theoretical implications.     

The nature and correlates of deterrents to leaving a relationship

The nature and correlates of perceived deterrents to leaving a relationship were examined in a sample of both partners (N= 314) from gay male, lesbian, and heterosexual couples. Partners rated the extent to which self‐identified features of their relationship were regarded as either attractions to the relationship or deterrents to ending that relationship. The deterrents identified included features that were also identified as attractions as well as unique features that functioned as barriers to leaving. Satisfaction with the relationship tended to be positively correlated with deterrents that were attractions but negatively correlated with deterrents that were barriers. Differences between gay male/lesbian partners and heterosexual partners were found in the kinds of deterrents identified but not in the link between deterrents and relationship satisfaction.     

The Impact of Parenting Experience on Gender Stereotyped Toy Play of Children

The purpose of this study was to examine gender role socialization as a function of parenting experience in an actual toy play situation and as a function of adults' perceptions of typically gender-stereotyped children's toys. Each of 48 children (24 boys and 24 girls) played with 3 adults: either his or her own mother or father, a matched mother or father of another child, and a matched man or woman who was not a parent. The amount of time children and adults played with gender-specific toys, adults' categorization of toys into gender categories, and adults' desirability ratings of gender-specific toys were examined. The gender-sorting task revealed that adults did not agree with traditional expert categorizations of some of the toys, which suggests a shift in the perceived function of some traditionally stereotyped toys. Regardless of how parents sorted toys into categories, when playing with boys, most time was spent with masculine toys. With girls, however, there was greater flexibility in the categories of toys with which they played. Parenting experience influenced the perceived desirability of toys; parents found toys more desirable than nonparents but these differences did not affect the actual play session with children. These results suggest a change in perceptions of traditionally stereotyped toys and differences as a function of gender in what is appropriate gender-typing behavior.     

Children’s Gender Identity in Lesbian and Heterosexual Two-Parent Families

This study compared gender identity, anticipated future heterosexual romantic involvement, and psychosocial adjustment of children in lesbian and heterosexual families; it was furthermore assessed whether associations between these aspects differed between family types. Data were obtained in the Netherlands from children in 63 lesbian families and 68 heterosexual families. All children were between 8 and 12 years old. Children in lesbian families felt less parental pressure to conform to gender stereotypes, were less likely to experience their own gender as superior and were more likely to be uncertain about future heterosexual romantic involvement. No differences were found on psychosocial adjustment. Gender typicality, gender contentedness and anticipated future heterosexual romantic involvement were significant predictors of psychosocial adjustment in both family types.