Children's construction of fantasy stories: Gender differences in conflict resolution strategies

While much work has been done on sex role development in children, conflict resolution, and sex role stereotyping in literature and television, little research has investigated conflict resolution and stereotyping in the fantasies children create themselves. The present study, analyzing gender differences in children's writing of fantasy stories, found significant differences in conflict resolutions they created. Boys used more violent resolutions to solve problems, while girls used more reasoning and analysis. Stories written by both sexes were—more often than not—sex role stereotyped, with female characters in traditional occupations and passive activities.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance received for this research from the Graduate School Faculty Research Grant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.     

A feminist theoretical perspective on the socialization of teenage girls through Seventeen magazine

An analysis of the ideology constructed in Seventeen magazine suggests that the concerns of a teenage girl are primarily with her appearance, household activities, and romance and dating. Sixty percent of the editorial copy for each issue for the years 1961, 1972, and 1985 dealt with beauty, fashion, cooking, and decorating. The feminist movement of the late 1960s may have influenced editorial content somewhat: the amount of coverage in the category “male-female relations,” representing traditional socialization, decreased in 1972, while coverage in the category “self-development,” representing more feminist messages, increased. In 1985, however, the percentages returned to their 1961 figures, suggesting that the effect was not permanent.     

Sex differences in responses to the stranger in the strange situation

Children are exposed to differences in adult interactive styles from an early age. The Ainsworth Strange Situation. designed as a standard measure to activate attachment behaviors in the young child, allows us to examine the child's reaction to individual differences in strangers' styles. In the present study, the effect of 11 different strangers was examined to determine if different stranger styles influenced the scoring of behavioral ratings of the child's behavior in the Strange Situation. Boys and girls reacted differently to the different strangers. Eighteen-month-old children showed more variations in their reactions to different interactional styles than did 12-month-olds. Boys showed more resistance and avoidance to strangers who used more direction and initiation. Girls did not react this way. The results are discussed in terms of the child's expectations of sex-determined styles of interaction learned from past social interactions.This research was supported by Grant MH 37911 to the senior author from the Behavioral Sciences Research Branch, Family Processes Division, NIMH, U.S. PHS and Grant HD 17571 from the National Institute of Child Health and Development.