Email this article 
Hide
Show all
PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON A CHILD'S GENDER IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT IN LAURIE FRANKEL'S THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS
Abstract
Social aspects, including parents, are likely to influence the development of gender identity. As parents' actions and behaviours convey meaning to their children, they contribute to the formation of the children's gender identity development. The present study aims to investigate the parental influence on the gender identity development of a child character named Claude in Laurie Frankel's This Is How It Always Is. This study is a literary criticism concerning the issue of gender identity development in a literary work viewed from a psychological approach. The data were collected from a novel entitled This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel and analyzed using the social cognitive theory of gender development by Bussey & Bandura (1999). The results of the study revealed that his parents influence Claude's gender identity development through the process of modelling as a part of observational learning, which is also supported by parents' evaluative reactions such as rewards or punishments. The process of modelling reveals egalitarian gender roles and sexual orientation modelled and Claude's attention to his mother as an ideal female model, alongside with how parents convey affective reactions such as acceptance and approval on Claude's gender orientation.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive Theory. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Excercise of Control. New York: W.H Freemand and Company.
Bandura, A., & McDonald, F. J. (1963). Influence of social reinforcement and the behavior of models in shaping children’s moral judgment. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(3), 274–281. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0044714
Boe, J. L., & Woods, R. J. (2018). Parents’ Influence on Infants’ Gender-Typed Toy Preferences. Sex Roles. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0858-4
Bussey, K. (2011). Gender Identity Development. In Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (pp. 603–628). New York: Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_25
Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1984). Influence of gender constancy and social power on sex-linked modeling. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47(6), 1292–1302. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.47.6.1292
Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1992). Self‐Regulatory Mechanisms Governing Gender Development. Child Development, 63, 1236–1250. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01692.x
Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation. Psychological Review, 106(4), 676–713. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.4.676
Cunningham, M. (2001). The influence of parental attitudes and behaviors on children’s attitudes toward gender and household labor in early adulthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 111–122. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00111.x
Emrich, C., Denmark, F., & Den Hartog, D. (2004). Cross cultural differences in gender egalitarianism: implications for societies, organizations and leaders. In V. G. Robert House, Paul Hanges, Mansour Javidan, Peter Dorfman (Ed.), Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies (1st ed., pp. 343–394). Sage Publications.
Endendijk, J. J., Groeneveld, M. G., & Mesman, J. (2018). The Gendered Family Process Model: An Integrative Framework of Gender in the Family. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 877–904. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1185-8
Endendijk, J. J., Groeneveld, M. G., Van der Pol, L. D., Van Berkel, S. R., Hallers-Haalboom, E. T., Mesman, J., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2014). Boys Don’t Play with Dolls: Mothers’ and Fathers’ Gender Talk during Picture Book Reading. Parenting, 14(3–4), 141–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2014.972753
Fagot, B. I., Leinbach, M. D., & O’Boyle, C. (1992). Gender Labeling, Gender Stereotyping, and Parenting Behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 28(2), 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.28.2.225
Frankel, L. (2017). This Is How It Always Is. New York: Flatiron Books.
Friedman, C. K., Leaper, C., & Bigler, R. (2007). Do mothers’ gender-related attitudes or comments predict young children’s gender beliefs? Parenting, 7(4), 357–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295190701665656
Hetherington, E. M. (1965). A developmental study of the effects of sex of the dominant parent on sex-role preference, identification, and imitation in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2(2), 188–194. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0022374
Jiping, Z., & Tang, S. (2000). Breadwinner status and gender ideologies of men and women regarding family roles. Sociological Perspectives, 43(1), 29–43. https://doi.org/10.2307/1389781
Kirkup, J. (2020). What explains the rising number of children with gender issues? https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/do-tv-characters-of-old-transwomen-really-influence-the-gender-of-young-girls-
Marks, J. L., Lam, C. B., & McHale, S. M. (2009). Family patterns of gender role attitudes. Sex Roles, 61, 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9619-3
Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. (2004). Children’s Search for Gender Cues: Cognitive Perspectives on Gender Development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(2), 67–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00276.x
Matsui, T., Ikeda, H., & Ohnishi, R. (1989). Relations of sex-typed socializations to career self-efficacy expectations of college students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 35, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(89)90044-4
McHale, S. M., & Crouter, A. C. (1992). You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Incongruence between Sex-Role Attitudes and Family Work Roles and Its Implications for Marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54(3), 537–547. https://doi.org/10.2307/353240
McHale, S. M., Crouter, A. C., & Whiteman, S. D. (2003). The Family Contexts of Gender Development in Childhood and Adolescence. Social Development, 12(1), 126–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00225
Powell, G. N., & Greenhaus, J. H. (2010). Sex, gender, and decisions at the family → work interface. Journal of Management, 36(4), 1011–1039. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309350774
Serbin, L. A., & Sprafkin, C. (1986). The Salience of Gender and the Process of Sex Typing in Three- to Seven-Year-Old Children. Child Development, 57(5), 1189–1199. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130442
Stennes, L. M., Burch, M. M., Sen, M. G., & Bauer, P. J. (2005). A longitudinal study of gendered vocabulary and communicative action in young children. Developmental Psychology, 41(1), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.1.75
Turner, P. J., & Gervai, J. (1995). A Multidimensional Study of Gender Typing in Preschool Children and Their Parents: Personality, Attitudes, Preferences, Behavior, and Cultural Differences. Developmental Psychology, 31(5), 759–772. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.31.5.759
Weinraub, M., Clemens, L. P., Sockloff, A., Ethridge, T., Gracely, E., & Myers, B. (1984). The Development of Sex Role Stereotypes in the Third Year: Relationships to Gender Labeling, Gender Identity, Sex-Types Toy Preference, and Family Characteristics. Child Development, 55(4), 1493–1503. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130019
Witt, M. G., & Wood, W. (2010). Self-regulation of gendered behavior in everyday life. Sex Roles, 62, 635–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9761-y
Zeldin, A. L., & Pajares, F. (2000). Against the odds: Self-efficacy beliefs of women in mathematical, scientific, and technological careers. American Educational Research Journal, 37(1), 215–246. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001215
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/ling.v15i2.10628
Copyright (c) 2020 LiNGUA: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa dan Sastra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Member of:
Indexed by:
Editorial Office:
Laboratory of Information and Publication, Faculty of Humanities
Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Jalan Gajayana 50 Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia 65144
Email: jurnallingua@gmail.com
Phone: +62 (0)341 570872
LiNGUA by Laboratory of Information and Publication, Faculty of Humanities is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://ejournal.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/humbud/index.