Like sister, like brother? Socialization through play among 2-year-old children and their siblings using the “French Longitudinal Study of Children” (“Elfe”)
Type de matériel :
24
Sociology has long disregarded the role of siblings in the sociogenesis of gender. This article, based on data from the French Longitudinal Study of Children (“Étude longitudinale française depuis l’enfance”, “Elfe”), focusing on play activities (with dolls and cars) linked to gender positions, demonstrates that sisters and brothers contribute to gender differentiation through a sibling training effect. Parental involvement, however, still plays a large role in these sibling socialization routines. Firstly, parental implication remains decisive for activities that are less gender-polarized (such as drawing or doing puzzles), differentiating older and younger siblings. Secondly, in order for sibling training to take place, parents must leave children alone to play with their toys. The article interprets this variable involvement in relation to the parents’ own strategies of reproduction: the reproduction of social class positions, notably achieved using “educational” games, seems to compete with parental strategies of gender reproduction.
Réseaux sociaux