Abstract:
Studies on development of gender identification indicate the presence of stereotypes in the choice of colors, toys and objects in three year-olds, provoking discussions about method. This article aims to analyze the use of objects and their relation to polyphonic dynamics in the production of meanings of gender in play. Four girls aged 30 to 36 months took part in qualitative multimethod sessions with a focus on dyadic (child-object) and triadic (adult-child-object) interactions. Caregivers took part in an individual semi-structured interview. Data were submitted to a thematic dialogic analysis and related to conventional gender expectations. Results indicated that conventionalization processes occur in interactions oriented to the maintenance of binarism as a dominant dynamics in the production of subjectivities in early childhood in Brazil, in play that involves: actions of caring for oneself and the other; caregivers' regulation of meanings and objects towards a permanence of gender stereotypes; and ambivalences that may indicate change in course.
Keywords:
Early Childhood; Polyphony; Production of Meanings; Multimethod; Gender Binarism