Emily Crawford

Annotated Bibliography
Cramer, P., & Steinwert, T. (1998). Thin is good, fat is bad: How early does it begin?. Journal of
applied developmental psychology, 19(3), 429-451. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397399800495
The existence of negative attitudes toward overweight body builds is shows in a group as
young as preschool children. The cultural stereotype was pervasive across gender, and the
findings suggest that efforts to counteract body size should begin the early preschool
years. While this does not deal specifically with gender stereotypes, it does provide
insight on how children begin to recognize cultural norms as early as preschool.
Funk, J. B., & Buchman, D. D. (1996). Children's perceptions of gender differences in social
approval for playing electronic games. Sex Roles, 35(3-4), 219-231. Retrieved from
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01433108
This study looks at how children respond to breaking social norms of what genders are
associated with playing electronic games. It provides evidence about the difficulty of
breaking these norms. It also talks about how if conforming to gender stereotypes that are
actually in the games maintains social approval, then those who choose other playing
patterns risk social sanction.
Johnson, C. (2015). Debate Rages over Gender-Specific Toys. Washington Times. Retrieved
from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/8/debate-rages-over-gender
specific-toys/?page=all
Target has stated that they will make efforts to stop making their toy aisles genderspecific. When children of the opposite sex see ads like this, they are receiving a message

Emily Crawford
that these toys are not made for them. Upon entering the toy aisle of an average store, the
division between toys by gender is made completely clear. When advertisements such as
this one say that their products were designed for use by a specific gender, children feel
obligated to be drawn toward their designated toys, leading to internal conflict when they
want to play with something associated with the other sex.
Leinbach, M. D., Hort, B. E., & Fagot, B. I. (1997). Bears are for boys: Metaphorical
associations in young children's gender stereotypes. Cognitive development, 12(1), 107130. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201497900320
This article presents a study that looked at associating objects with one sex or the other
because they embody certain gender qualities or have a metaphorical correspondence to
traditional gender stereotypes. This will be a helpful resource because it looks more into
the psychological reasoning behind the perception of these stereotypes in things like toys
by looking at the metaphorical intent behind the products. It looks into the metaphorical
theory of gender stereotypes, which is not something in lots of other research.
Mendez, L. M. R., & Crawford, K. M. (2002). Gender-role stereotyping and career aspirations:
A comparison of gifted early adolescent boys and girls. Prufrock Journal, 13(3), 96-107.
Retrieved from http://joa.sagepub.com/content/13/3/96.short
This article has a study that showed that girls showed greater flexibility in their career
aspirations, ruling out fewer options than the males. Boys aspired to be in careers that
were higher in education and that had more prestige than the girls did. This is useful

Emily Crawford
because it is evidence that males take steps towards going into more difficult jobs than
females.
Pomerleau, A., Bolduc, D., Malcuit, G., Cossette, L. (1990). Pink or Blue: Environmental
Stereotypes in the First Two Years of Life. 22(5), 359-367. Retrieved from
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00288339
This study observed the environment of boys and girls from the ages of 5 months, 13
months, and 25 months. The boys were provided with more sports equipment, tools, and
toy vehicles, which the girls had more dolls and fictional characters. It explores the
common physical activities of both genders at a young age while also looking at what
adults consider most appropriate to provide their children. This will be useful to look at
because it studies the problem at a very young age while also looking at the long-term
effects of these stereotypes on the children throughout later development.
Remington, J. (2015). When I grow Up, I Want to be A. CareerOneStop. Retrieved from
http://blog.careeronestop.org/?p=671
While this graph does not directly refer to children's media, the fact that a majority of
boys and girls said they wanted to go into their gender-dominated career fields could
suggest that there is a strong influence for them to do so at such a young age. It will also
be interesting to find out how many of these children actually go into these fields or if
they go into something not usually affiliated with their gender. That data could suggest
whether or not societies are moving past these social barriers when it comes to choosing
the career that best suits that individual's interests.

Emily Crawford
Sheldon, J. P. (2004). Gender stereotypes in educational software for young children. Sex
Roles, 51(7-8), 433-444. Retrieved from
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:SERS.0000049232.90715.d9
This article is about a study that looked at the gender stereotypes represent in educational
technology, as it becomes a growing part of students' lives in the classroom. The results
showed that there were more male than female characters present, making it difficult for
teachers to explain gender diversity to their students. This takes a different angle as it
relates to an educational perspective.
Taylor, F. (2003). Content Analysis and Gender Stereotypes in Children's Books. Teaching
Sociology, 31(3), 300311. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3211327
This article presents in exercise in which students uncover gender stereotypes in books
such as Dr. Suess. They were assigned in small groups to conduct a close analysis of the
books to see whether or not traditional stereotypes were present. They examined the text,
symbols, characters, colors, and major themes to determine if these stereotypes were
there. This article is useful because it shows how the problem occurs not only in movies,
but also in very popular works of children's literature.
Towbin, M. A., Haddock, S. A., Zimmerman, T. S., Lund, L. K., & Tanner, L. R. (2004). Images
of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated
Films. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15(4), 19-44. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/j086v15n04_02
The Disney Corporation is one of the largest and well-known companies in the world, as
it is extremely popular in children entertainment. This article examines a study conducted

Emily Crawford
in 2004 that was designed to look at the portrayal of societal groups such as gender, race,
age, and sexual orientation in 26 Disney films. The findings indicated that there were few
examples of positive portrayals, but they became more common in the later films.
Minority groups were portrayed negatively, rarely, or not at all. The fact that the more
recent films portrayed these groups in a more positive light is promising, and suggests
that societies are not only becoming more aware of the problem, but are also taking
action to do something about the way these stereotypes are conveyed to children.