MATERNAL GENDER VALUES AND CHILD GENDER SOCIALIZATION

Abstract

This study looked at the correlations between mother’s feminism values, their attitudes toward their child’s engagement in gender atypical play, and self-reported parenting behaviors. Sixty-six mothers of six to nine-year-old children participated in the study, with 63 completing an online questionnaire and three completing the questionnaire as well as an in-person interview with their child. Three questions guided the research: 1) Are mother’s feminism values related to their attitudes toward children’s gender expression and parenting behaviors related to gender? 2) Does child’s gender impact mother’s acceptance of gender atypical play and parenting behaviors surrounding children’s individual gender expression? 3) Are mothers’ values regarding acceptance of gender atypical behavior reflected in their self-reported parenting behaviors? Overall, it was expected that more traditional mothers and mothers of sons would report less acceptance of gender atypical play. The results revealed that mothers’ feminism values were correlated to their acceptance of gender atypical behaviors, supporting the hypothesis that more traditional mothers are less accepting of gender atypical behavior. Mothers’ self-reported parenting behaviors revealed stronger trends toward supporting gender typical play in sons than in daughters, supporting the hypothesis that mothers may be less accepting of gender atypical play in sons than daughters.