Gender Stereotyping in Pretend Play among Children Adopted by Same-Sex Couples

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate gender stereotyping during episodes of spontaneous pretend play among children adopted by gay male couples. Gender stereotyping in children's play has been reported in different contexts, regarding discussions on their biological, cultural and individual determination. This work is a naturalistic observational study that involved 13 children aged 3-7 years during 16 observation sessions in a Day care playroom. A total of 123 episodes were analyzed, which were categorized by group's formation (number of participants and gender); type and theme of the play; and use of objects. Significant differences were found for all criteria that characterize the play as gender-typed. These findings corroborate other studies among children raised by heterosexual couples. Boys had episodes in larger groups and themes that required more use of space, while girls played in smaller groups and used more toys.

摘要 本研究旨在探究男同伴侣收养的儿童在自发假装游戏片段中所呈现的性别刻板印象。现有研究已在多种情境中报道了儿童游戏中的性别刻板印象，相关讨论围绕儿童性别塑造的生物学、文化及个体决定因素展开。本研究为自然主义观察研究，共纳入13名3至7岁的儿童，在日间照料游戏室开展了16次观察时段，共计分析123段游戏场景，并从群体构成（参与者人数与性别）、游戏类型与主题、物品使用三个维度对场景进行分类。研究发现，所有用于表征游戏性别类型化的评判标准均存在显著差异。上述研究结果与异性恋伴侣抚养儿童的相关研究结论相符。男孩的游戏片段多出现于规模更大的群体中，且对应的主题需要更大的活动空间；而女孩则倾向于在小规模群体中开展游戏，且更多使用玩具。