Gender Style as Form and Content: An Examination of Gender Stereotypes in the Subject Preference of Children's Drawing

Abstract

This drawing study examines the relationship between children's preferences for subject content, their use of formal characteristics, and their gender. Elementary students were read a narrative designed to highlight stereotypical gender interests and attitudes. They were then asked to create a titled illustration based on an episode of the story. Two hundred and fifty drawings were scored with reference to 20 conceptual content domains related to gender-based subject preferences and 22 formal characteristics of art. Findings revealed gendered art preferences influence the formation of gendered styles in children's drawing. Female drawings incorporated more humanistic and social content than male drawings, and feminine content domains employed greater variety of color, harmonious color, organic qualities of shape, and more detailed features. Male drawings communicated aggression and adventure in their content, and masculine content domains employed more expressive and symptomatic lines and fewer colors. Recommendations are made to guard against gender stereotyping in the practice of art education.