Gender differences in students' self-portraits

In my master’s thesis, I explored how gender affects self-portrait drawing. While doing my internship in primary school, I noticed that female students change their features in the self-portrait to suit the current social perceptions related to appearance. Male students, on the other hand, draw their self-portraits much more in line with their realistic image. I used a qualitative research approach to research this occurrence. In the theoretical part of my master's thesis, I presented various self-portraits from well-known artists in art history and emphasize the difference between male and female self-portraits over time. From a sociological point of view, I delved into the social construction of gender, gender stereotyping, the self-image of school children and how self-image affects the creation of self-portraits. And lastly, the empirical part includes research that I conducted in the 6th grade of primary school. A similar research has not yet been conducted, so my master’s thesis will bring new scientific insights