Premium
An Investigation of the Discourses Children Draw on Their Constructions of Gender
Author(s) -
Francis Becky
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb01388.x
Subject(s) - narrative , resistance (ecology) , variety (cybernetics) , deconstruction (building) , gender studies , psychology , gender psychology , sociology , discourse analysis , developmental psychology , order (exchange) , social psychology , gender identity , linguistics , ecology , philosophy , finance , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics , biology
The mechanisms behind children's constructions of gender are examined in an attempt to identify the various narratives that children draw on. The ways in which these narratives are used in children's talk about gender are analyzed in order to provide a greater understanding of discursive resources available to children. The different types of discourse evident in children's discussion of gender are listed. The discursive contradictions in children's speech and discursive resistance to the construction of gender dichotomy are examined. It is concluded that the children in the sample drew on a wide variety of gender discourses, suggesting that they have a more developed understanding of gender issues than has been recognized previously. Finally, the paper considers the possible methods for deconstruction of dominant gender discourses.