scholarly journals Peer audience effects on children's vocal masculinity and femininity

Author(s):  
Valentina Cartei ◽  
David Reby ◽  
Alan Garnham ◽  
Jane Oakhill ◽  
Robin Banerjee

Existing evidence suggests that children from around the age of 8 years strategically alter their public image in accordance with known values and preferences of peers, through the self-descriptive information they convey. However, an important but neglected aspect of this ‘self-presentation’ is the medium through which such information is communicated: the voice itself. The present study explored peer audience effects on children's vocal productions. Fifty-six children (26 females, aged 8–10 years) were presented with vignettes where a fictional child, matched to the participant's age and sex, is trying to make friends with a group of same-sex peers with stereotypically masculine or feminine interests (rugby and ballet, respectively). Participants were asked to impersonate the child in that situation and, as the child, to read out loud masculine, feminine and gender-neutral self-descriptive statements to these hypothetical audiences. They also had to decide which of those self-descriptive statements would be most helpful for making friends. In line with previous research, boys and girls preferentially selected masculine or feminine self-descriptive statements depending on the audience interests. Crucially, acoustic analyses of fundamental frequency and formant frequency spacing revealed that children also spontaneously altered their vocal productions: they feminized their voices when speaking to members of the ballet club, while they masculinized their voices when speaking to members of the rugby club. Both sexes also feminized their voices when uttering feminine sentences, compared to when uttering masculine and gender-neutral sentences. Implications for the hitherto neglected role of acoustic qualities of children's vocal behaviour in peer interactions are discussed. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Abigail S. Walsh

Television is a strong educational and socializing agent for children. Watching television can teach children appropriate language and vocabulary to use, as well as the social norms about gender behaviors or activities. Previous research on gender representations in children’s television has been limited to studying male and female characters because children’s programming has historically presented audiences with cisgender characters (e.g., boy and girls). Recently, television shows aimed at children have provided audiences with nonbinary and gender-diverse characters. This study is the first exploratory content analysis, to my knowledge, to examine the portrayal and representation of nonbinary and gender-diverse characters in children’s television. The current study examined the gender-neutral pronoun and gendered language use toward nonbinary and gender-diverse characters, as well as the portrayal of these characters as leaders, and with special skills in Adventure Time and Steven Universe. Overall, nonbinary and gender-diverse characters were portrayed as strong, positive, characters, and were represented similarly to their cisgender counterparts. This represents a promising shift toward more inclusive and equitable television representation, which may lead to the acceptance and appropriate use of gender-neutral pronouns toward peers by cisgender children, and the feeling of visibility and validation by nonbinary children. Future research should examine the impacts of these characters on viewers. RELEVANCE STATEMENT: As children’s television becomes more diverse it has the potential to positively impact the lives of cisgender (e.g., boys and girls) and nonbinary children. Because television has the potential to influence young children, gender-diverse representations in children’s television may lead to children developing more accepting attitudes and behaviors toward nonbinary peers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 541-553
Author(s):  
Cathryn Glanton Holzhauer ◽  
Thomas Hildebrandt ◽  
Elizabeth Epstein ◽  
Barbara McCrady ◽  
Kevin A. Hallgren ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-52
Author(s):  
Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska

The main purpose of the article is to analyse the language and argumentation used by Polish politicians in debates on equality and gender equality rights. The material analysed in the article includes shorthand records gathered in the internet archives of the Sejm and the Senate during legislative works on the bill on the equal status of men and women. The conclusion, drawn after the analysis, supports the initial theses of the authors (Marek Czyżewski, Sergiusz Kowalski, Andrzej Piotrowski), who claimed that the basic “mode of public discourse” in Poland is the so-called “ritual chaos”, which manifests a lack of will of agreement and ostentatious self-presentation. During the debate the MPs defined the key words such as “equality” and “parity” in various manner, they marginalised the problem of discrimination of sexes and showed a lack of professionalism in their presentations. It was surprising to see one of the strongest voices against the bill presented by the representative of the “Platforma Obywatelska”, which normally claims liberalism and equality. Meanwhile, the most rational and balanced views and arguments for equality of rights for women were presented by a representative of the “Samoobrona”.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Qiao ◽  
William Glenn Griffin

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a brand imitation strategy for the package design of male-targeted, female-targeted and gender-neutral products. Design/methodology/approach Three (2 × 2 × 2) between-subjects factorial experiments were conducted with three independent variables, namely, visual shape, color and logo, each classified as relevant/divergent. The dependent variables were participants’ attitudes toward the brand, attitudes toward the product and purchase intention. Findings There were no significant main effects or interactions for the male-targeted product. The results for the female-targeted product revealed no significant main effect of visual shape, a significant main effect of color and significant two-way interactions between visual shape and color and between visual shape and logo. Significant main effects were found for visual shape and color for the gender-neutral product. Practical implications A color scheme similar to that of a leading brand in the same product category more powerfully influenced participants’ attitudes and purchase intention, while a more holistically similar design had greater impact than a less holistic design. Some “divergence” or distinctive design elements of the female-targeted product positively influenced participants’ attitudes and behavior. These findings suggest that a brand imitation strategy offers a means for competing in the marketplace, but should be used with caution. Originality/value A conceptual continuum of brand imitation is proposed, incorporating visual semiotics, creativity theory and gender differences in cognitive styles to provide a more systematic method for delineating brand imitation levels.


Author(s):  
Endong Floribert Patrick Calvain

Though popularly construed as a universal phenomenon, selfie taking is gendered and culturally determined. This could be evidenced by the fact that the two socio-cultural forces of conservatism and traditionalism continue to tremendously shape African women's style of taking and sharing selfies on social media. Based on a content analysis of 200 selfies generated and shared by Nigerian women on Facebook and Instagram, this chapter illustrates this reality. It argues that Nigerian women are generally more conservative than liberal in their use of selfies for self-presentation, self-imaging and self-expression in public spaces. Over 59% of their selfies have conservative features. However, despite the prevalence of conservative myths and gender related stereotypes in the Nigerian society, the phenomenon of nude or objectified selfies remains a clearly notable sub-culture among Nigerian women. Over 41% of Nigerian women's selfies contain such objectification features as suggestive postures; suggestive micro-expressions and fair/excessive nudity among others.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iiris Ruoho ◽  
Sinikka Torkkola

Abstract In this article, we raise some methodological questions regarding the study of journalism and gender. We start with the idea that in many studies, researchers tend to think that the relationship between gender and journalism is external, that is, gender and journalism are considered essentially separate phenomena. In such a scenario, journalism appears to be gender neutral. Instead of theoretically keeping journalism and gender apart, we suggest that it is worth studying journalism as a gendered institution with its own history, culture, and social roles. We ask how the understanding of the relationship between journalism and gender may change if different social, cultural, and conventional dimensions of journalism are examined. Our main argument is that journalism and its relationship to gender can be investigated systematically as a multidimensional object that highlights various aspects of both concepts, depending on the specific research focus. Based on our former study, we aim to develop a model for examining these diverse facets of journalism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 446-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana M. Manago ◽  
Michael B. Graham ◽  
Patricia M. Greenfield ◽  
Goldie Salimkhan
Keyword(s):  

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3554-3574
Author(s):  
Jessica J. Cameron ◽  
Kelley J. Robinson ◽  
Patti C. Parker ◽  
Christine Hole

Would-be-daters are surrounded by media messages that both target one gender and pit men and women against each other in the dating game (i.e., gendered relationship messages). How do these messages influence relationship initiation? In the present research, we focus on the consequences of being primed with gendered dating messages via actual book titles. We propose that such messages should have mixed consequences depending on (a) whether the reader’s gender is congruent with the message’s target gender and (b) the dating outcome. In two experiments, we tested how exposure to gendered dating messages influences emotions, motivation, and self-presentation. Individuals exposed to gender-incongruent messages exhibited higher self-protection motives. Conversely, those exposed to gender-congruent messages experienced reduced feelings of vulnerability, yet had the counterproductive consequence of creating less likeable self-presentations. Would-be-daters should be cautious in their exposure to both gender-congruent and gender-incongruent dating messages.


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