You're Such a Girl: Children's Reasoning About Gendered Interactions

Children ages 6-7 and 9-10 and emerging adults ( n = 115) judged whether a character should approach a group of peers when they had a gender -neutral, gender -norm -consistent, or gender -norm -inconsistent activity. They also provided justifications and judgments about whether the character would be teased. Approaching peers with a gender -norm -inconsistent activity was judged as unacceptable, and participants also anticipated the protagonist would be teased. Justifications indicated that all ages tended to consider gender norms when activities were gendered, but personal preference when activities were gender neutral. Participants anticipated that friends would be less likely to tease than strangers. Girls/women and the youngest age groups (6-7) were most likely to indicate that being teased would prevent the character from engaging in the activity in the future.