Gender socialization in childhood and adolescence The role of the media in context

Decades of research and theoretical development has suggested that the media can exert a significant influence on children and adolescents’ gender identities and beliefs. Such effects may be problematic given the stereotypical nature of media content. This chapter focuses on the gender related content of different types of media that are frequently used by children and adolescents (i.e., television and movies, social and online media, videogames), and reports findings from research on how such content can affect the development of gender beliefs, directly as well as in interaction with other biopsychosocial factors.