Gender perception in the preschool age

V teoretičnem delu sem najprej opredelila osnovne pojme. Fausto-Sterling (2014) v zvezi s spolom razlikuje biološki in družbeni spol. Biološki spol se določi ob rojstvu otroka na podlagi anatomije zunanjih genitalij, družbeni spol pa se uporablja kot oznaka identitete ali samopredstavitve posameznika, ki pa vedno ustreza zahtevam kulture, v katero se otrok rodi. Spolna identiteta je posameznikov pojem o sebi kot dečku ali deklici (Marjanovič Umek, 2020). Oseba se lahko identificira s spolom, ki mu je bil predpisan ob rojstvu, lahko pa se z njim tudi ne identificira. Nekatere posameznice se na primer ne počutijo dovolj ženstvene, da bi zadovoljile zahtevam, ki jih družba zahteva od ženske (Štular, 1998). Nato sem predstavila različne teorije o razvoju spolnih vlog: biološke in biološko-socialne teorije, teorije učenja in socialnega učenja, spoznavne razvojne teorije in teorijo spolnih shem. V nadaljevanju sem se osredotočila na razlike med spoloma in opisala področja, v katerih se deklice in dečki razlikujejo oz. so si podobni. Marjanovič Umek (2004) je mnenja, da lahko samo desetino individualnih razlik med otroki povezujemo s spolom, za ostale pa so vzrok drugi dejavniki. Na koncu teoretičnega dela sem predstavila še spolne stereotipe in vpliv socialnega okolja na spolno tipično vedenje otrok. Cilj raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kako starejši predšolski otroci dojemajo spol in s čim ga povezujejo. V raziskavi sem uporabila tehniko intervjuja, ki sem ga izvedla v vrtcu z dvajsetimi otroki, starimi od pet do šest let. Deset otrok je bilo moškega in deset ženskega spola. Rezultati so pokazali, da se predšolski otroci, tako deklice kot dečki, zavedajo svojega spola, vendar se pri prepoznavanju spola bolj kot na anatomijo telesa osredotočijo na zunanje in kulturne vidike svoje spolne identitete. Ugotovila sem, da se že pri predšolskih otrocih obeh spolov pri izbiri barve, igrač in poklicev pojavljajo spolni stereotipi.Firstly, the theoretical part presents the definitions of key concepts. Fausto-Sterling (2014) differentiates between sex and gender. Sex is assigned at birth based on one’s external genitalia, whereas gender refers to the identity or self-representation of a person and always corresponds to the demands of the culture the person is born into. Gender identity is a person’s perception of themselves as male or female (Marjanovič Umek, 2020). A person can identify themselves with the sex assigned at birth, or not. Some individuals for example do not feel feminine enough to meet the requirements that society demands from women (Štular, 1998). Secondly, different evolutionary theories of gender roles are presented: biological and biological social theories, learning and social learning theories, cognitive developmental theories, as well as the theory of gender schemas. The thesis then focuses on exploring the differences between both sexes and describes the areas in which boys and girls differ or present similarities. According to Marjanovič Umek (2004), only a tenth of individual differences between children can be attributed to their sex, the rest is attributable to other factors. The theoretical part concludes by presenting gender stereotypes and the impact of social environment on the typical gender behaviour displayed by children. The purpose of the research was to establish how older pre-school children perceive gender and what they associate it with. A structured interview technique was used in which twenty children, aged 5-6 years participated, ten males and ten females. The results showed that pre-school children, both girls and boys, are aware of their gender. However, in identifying gender they tend to focus more on external and cultural aspects of their gender identity, rather than on the body anatomy itself. The thesis concludes that even pre-school children of both sexes tend to express gender stereotypes when choosing colours, toys and professions