Early Gender Differences in Valuing Strength

Abstract

Being strong is a prominent male stereotype that children learn early in life; however, it is unknown as to when children start to value being strong and when gender differences in valuing strength might emerge. In the current study, we interviewed an ethnically diverse sample of 168 3-5 year-olds (88 girls, 80 boys) to address this gap in the literature. Results showed that boys as young as age 3 generally valued strength more than girls: (1) boys, on average, said it was more important to be strong than girls did, and (2) boys were more likely to prefer strength-related occupations than girls. Boys were also more likely to select boys than girls as the gender who cares more about physical strength. Additionally, with age, both girls and boys demonstrated knowledge of the stereotype that boys care about physical strength, with girls also being less likely to associate being a girl with being strong. Overall, the results suggest that valuing physical strength starts in early childhood, and gender differences in valuing strength are evident at the eve of gender identity development. Possible implications for boys' later well-being and health are discussed.

Keywords: Early childhood; Gender development; Gender differences; Gender stereotypes; Physical strength; Values.

Fig. 1

Predicted values of gender-strength stereotypes (explicit questions) by participant age and gender for children with average levels of gender identification. Possible values could range from 1 to 3. Higher values indicate equating strength with one’s own gender group

Fig. 2

The probability of selecting a boy versus a girl in response to, “Who cares about being strong?” (gender-strength stereotype: inferences about others) by participant age and gender for children with mean levels of gender identification