Gendered Appearances among Young Children and in the Media: An East-West Cultural Comparison

Gutierrez, Brenda C.; Halim, May Ling; Ng, Florrie Fei‐Yin; Kwak, Keumjoo; Ortiz-Cubias, Sara; Cheng, Grace Yui-Lei; Sze, Irene Nga-Lam

doi:10.1007/s11199-019-01059-3

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…One study compared adolescents' preferences for masculine and feminine appearances in their peers in Hong Kong and America. The results indicated that the Chinese people adopted more tolerant attitudes toward feminized males, and this finding is consistent with the higher proportion of feminized male models exhibited in Chinese media (Gutierrez et al, 2020). Combined with the findings in this study, we infer that the "femininity" characteristics of culture could also manifest themselves in people's preference for feminized male faces.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…The existence of non-facial cues significantly influences the perceived masculinity ratings of male faces, and the influence of culture and face stimuli should be considered as potential reasons for the inconsistency we found. Compared to Western cultures, Chinese culture advocates a more feminized male appearance (Gutierrez et al, 2020 ), and photographs of college students might not display as many gender markers as faces collected from middle-aged individuals. Further research should explore the influence of culture and face stimuli to provide a more complete understanding of women’s perceptions of male faces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to Western culture, Chinese culture stresses pro-social behavior for building and maintaining harmonious interpersonal relationships (Ma, Tunney, & Ferguson, 2017 ; Wang & Cui, 2007 ). In addition, masculinity in China is centered on internal characteristics rather than physical appearances (Gutierrez et al, 2020 ). Therefore, Chinese culture might be more relaxed regarding the masculine appearance of males.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women’s Femininity Preferences in Male Faces: Tests Based on Within- and Between-Sex Sexual Dimorphism Facial Manipulations

et al. 2021

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Past research on women’s preferences for male facial masculinity in Western cultures has produced inconsistent results. Some inconsistency may be related to the use of different facial stimulus manipulations (e.g., between-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation or within-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation) that do not perfectly avoid non-facial cues, and pregnancy status may also influence women’s face preferences. We therefore recruited pregnant and nonpregnant Chinese women and manipulated the sexual dimorphism of male facial stimuli to explore the influences of manipulation methods, non-facial cues, and pregnancy status on face preferences. Results showed that: (1) in contrast with a general masculinity preference observed in Western cultures, both pregnant and nonpregnant Chinese women preferred feminized and neutral male faces generally; (2) pregnant women’s preference for feminized male faces was stable across manipulation methods, while nonpregnant women preferred feminized male faces except under between-sex sexual dimorphism manipulation; and (3) manipulation methods, rather than non-facial cues, influenced participants’ face preferences. Specifically, women showed the strongest preferences for femininity when face stimuli were manipulated by within-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation, followed by unmanipulated faces and between-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation. This effect was stronger for nonpregnant women in the unmanipulated condition and for pregnant women in the between-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation. This research provides empirical evidence of women’s preferences for sexual dimorphism in male faces in a non-Western culture, as well as the effects of facial manipulation methods, pregnancy status, and the interactions between these factors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women’s Femininity Preferences in Male Faces: Tests Based on Within- and Between-Sex Sexual Dimorphism Facial Manipulations

et al. 2021

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“…and, correspondingly, boys show less masculine-appearance rigidity in Hong Kong than in the US (Gutierrez et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The influence of gender stereotypes about toys, appearance, gender of playmates, and play activities on peer appraisals has been documented among 4‐ to 5‐year‐olds, with less positivity towards peers displaying gender nonconformity (Kwan et al., 2020; Qian et al., 2021). Relative to North Americans, appraisals of gender nonconformity appear to be harsher among Chinese children (Nabbijohn et al., 2020) and adults (Winter et al., 2008)—although Chinese boys’ appraisals of gender‐nonconforming male physical appearance appear to be milder and thus an exception (Gutierrez et al., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture influences the development of children's gender‐related peer preferences: Evidence from China and Thailand

Wang

Qian

Nabbijohn

et al. 2021

Developmental Science

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Current understanding of how culture relates to the development of children's genderrelated peer preferences is limited. To investigate the role of societal acceptance of gender nonconformity, this study compared children from China and Thailand. Unlike China and other cultures where the conceptualization of gender as binary is broadly accepted, individuals who identify as a nonbinary "third" sex/gender have been highly visible and tolerated in Thai society for at least several decades. Chinese and Thai 4-to 9-year-olds (N = 458) viewed vignettes of four hypothetical peers who varied on gender (i.e., boy vs. girl) and gender-typed toy play behavior (i.e., masculine vs. feminine), and were asked to give a friendship preference rating for each peer. Chinese, compared with Thai, children evidenced gender-related peer preferences that emerged earlier, remained more stable across age groups, and were relatively more biased against gender-nonconforming behavior. The only cultural similarity was in children's preference for peers who were of the same gender and/or displayed same-gender-typed behavior. Thus, while preference for peers who are of the same gender and/or display same-gender-typed behavior is common among children across cultures, the developmental onset and course of these preferences vary by culture. Moreover, societal acceptance of gender nonconformity might be key to limiting children's bias against gender-nonconforming peers.

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Gender attitudes and gender discrimination among ethnically and geographically diverse young children

Halim,

Glazier,

Martinez

et al. 2023

Infant and Child Development

Self Cite

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Despite increasing advocacy for gender equality, gender prejudice and discrimination persist. The origins of these biases develop in early childhood, but it is less clear whether (1) children's gender attitudes predict discrimination and (2) gender attitudes and discrimination vary by ethnicity and US region. We examine these questions with an ethnically (Asian, Black, Latinx and White) and geographically (Northeast, Pacific Northwest, West, Southeast and Hawaii) diverse sample of 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children (N = 605) who completed measures of gender attitudes and discrimination in a preregistered study. Children, across groups, demonstrated more positive attitudes towards their gender ingroup. Children who showed more pro‐ingroup attitudes also showed more pro‐ingroup behavioural discrimination. Girls showed stronger ingroup favouritism than boys, but ethnic and regional groups generally did not vary in levels of bias. These findings contribute to our understanding of how gender intergroup biases develop and highlight the generalizability of these processes.

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Gendered Appearances among Young Children and in the Media: An East-West Cultural Comparison

Cited by 15 publications

References 72 publications

Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women’s Femininity Preferences in Male Faces: Tests Based on Within- and Between-Sex Sexual Dimorphism Facial Manipulations

Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women’s Femininity Preferences in Male Faces: Tests Based on Within- and Between-Sex Sexual Dimorphism Facial Manipulations

Culture influences the development of children's gender‐related peer preferences: Evidence from China and Thailand

Gender attitudes and gender discrimination among ethnically and geographically diverse young children

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