Różni, ale czy równi?
Different But Equal?

On Socialization into Gender Roles in Contemporary Polish Families

Author(s): Anna Krajewska
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Sociology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: childhood; gender; family; socialization
Summary/Abstract: Socialization into gender roles in the everyday lives of children – particularly younger children – is to a large extent the result of the parental practices adopted in their families, which include not just conscious decisions regarding the upbringing or education of children, but also forming of their everyday life through, often automatic and made without reflection, choices and actions. By shaping the material environment of childhood (children’s spaces, their toys, clothes), by encouraging or discouraging children’s activities, by including or excluding them from various activities or information, parents influence the formation of their offspring’s identities, including their gender identity. In addition, children more or less co-create the conditions in which “self” is formed, and the degree of children’s participation and their influence on this process is also – at least in part – the result of certain everyday, often automatic and reflexive decisions. So what does socialization into gender roles look like in contemporary Polish families? Are there differences in the socialization practices of mothers and fathers? Do practices involving girls and boys significantly differ? And finally, what is the influence of children themselves on shaping these practices? The article presents the results of qualitative research on gender roles socialization in preschool and primary school children, occuring in everyday family life and in children’s extracurricular activities.

• Details
• Contents