The Politics of Race and Gender: Children's Perceptions of Discrimination and the U.S. Presidency.

Bigler, Rebecca S.; Arthur, Andrea E.; Hughes, Julie Milligan; Patterson, Meagan M.

In the year prior to Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's bids to become the Democratic nominee for the U.S. presidency, we explored children's views about the role of race and gender in the U.S. presidency, with a specific focus on perceptions of discrimination. Specifically, we examined children's (aged 5 to 10) knowledge of and attributions for the lack of female (Study 1, N = 76), African American (Study 2, N = 64), and Latino (Study 3, N = 65) presidents. Results indicated that children are knowledgeable about the gender, race, and ethnicity of past presidents, and that many children attribute the lack of female, African American, and Latino presidents to gender and racial discrimination. Theoretical and policy implications of the work are discussed.

UNITED States; SOCIAL perception in children; CHILDREN & politics; PRESIDENTIAL elections -- Social aspects; AMERICAN women in politics; SEX discrimination against women; HISPANIC Americans -- Politics & government; POLITICAL participation of African Americans

Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy, 2008, Vol 8, Issue 1, p83

1529-7489

Academic Journal

10.1111/j.1530-2415.2008.00161.x