Women are under more pressure to look good than men. For instance, the top trait that women are valued for is physical attractiveness, according to data from Pew Research, while men are most valued for their morality and honesty. Meanwhile, 71% of Pew survey respondents said women are under pressure to be physically attractive, while only 27% of respondents said the same about men.
Now a new study published in Child Development shows that children as young as 3 years old have picked up on this difference. Here’s what you need to know:
How was the study conducted?
Researchers at California State University interviewed 170 girls and boys between the ages of 3 and 5.
First, the researchers asked the children how strongly they identified with their gender. Next, the children were shown four pictures of different outfits, which ranged from gender-neutral (a T-shirt and jeans) to a fancy strongly gendered outfit (a suit for boys or a purple dress with rhinestones for girls), and asked which they’d most like to wear.
The researchers also tested the children’s ability to remember gendered outfits. In addition, they also gave the children pictures of four different job outfits. Two of the jobs were related to appearance (model, makeup artist) and two were not (teacher, librarian).
The children were also asked how much they liked various media characters, such as superheroes and Disney characters, and why they liked them.
Finally, the researchers asked the children how important it is to be attractive.
What did the findings reveal?
Overall, girls were more likely to value personal appearance than boys. They were more likely to select fancy outfits and also had a better memory for fancy outfits, although they did not outperform boys on another memory task. Girls, particularly those who had a strong gender identification, were also more likely to select outfits for appearance-related jobs.
Girls were also five times more likely than boys to say that they liked a character because of the character’s appearance: For example, they liked Rapunzel because of her long hair and shoes. Boys were more likely to say they preferred characters based on what they did: For example, they liked Spider-Man because he shoots webs.
There could be many reasons for this early gender gap, the study’s authors postulate. This includes absorbing stereotypes from the media, particularly since past studies have shown a relationship between media consumption and a preoccupation with appearance.
The researchers also suggested that children’s peers might reinforce certain types of behavior. For example, boys want to talk about superheroes while girls might play princess games. Teachers might unconsciously favor more attractive children, or children might simply be absorbing these behaviors from their parents as they watch them get ready for the day (e.g.: mom wears makeup, dad doesn’t.)
Even cases where parents are encouraging gender-neutral behavior might not be enough to offset these influences, the study suggests.
“While many parents in the United States are currently striving to parent in a gender-neutral way, they may be no match for grandparents who delight in lavishing their grandchildren with highly feminine- or masculine-typed outfits along with much praise (e.g., “You look so beautiful!” and “What a gorgeous dress!”),” the researchers wrote. “Likely, causes of children’s development of value of personal attractiveness are multiply determined . . .”