A Qualitative Case Study on the Discrepancy between Children’s Gender Schema and Gender Role Acceptability：With a Focus on the Intersexual Role Playing of Two Brothers’

Abstract

It is generally known that children’s development of ‘gender schema’ and ‘gender role stereotype’ has a positive relationship with the notion of ‘gender role preference’. This study analyzed an unusual case focusing on the role playing of two brothers’. The elder brother, Hyoung-Gyoo, always preferred to take the female role, and he had a preference for feminine names like “Cordelia” whilst engaging in role playing situations. The brothers can be said to have crossed the border into the realm of intersexual role playing. The results revealed Hyoung-Gyoo’s clear discrepancy between gender-related perceptions and reality, and showed his younger sibling Je-Gyoo’s high level of acceptance towards his brother’s extraordinary gender role preference. The results of this study can serve as a useful reference point for detailing unusual development from early childhood regarding ‘opposite-gender-role seeking’ characteristics. 색인어: 성 도식, 성 ì—­í• ê³ ì •ê´€ë , 이성지향자(ç•°æ€§å¿—å‘è€ ), 성 ì •ì²´ê°, 성 ì—­í• ìˆ˜ìš©ì„± Keywords: gender schema, gender role stereotype, opposite-gender-role seeker, gender identity, gender role acceptability