A Poststructural Feminist Approach to the Acquisition of Gender Roles in Early Childhood

Abstract

Early childhood is the period during which the child's identity is constructed. The perspectives children acquire regarding the phenomenon of gender and the identities they develop during this period are important in terms of them being antidiscriminatory individuals in future periods. This study attempts to explain how gender is constructed socially, culturally, historically, and politically by considering the theoretical approaches developed in this direction instead of justifying gender construction biologically. The literature contains various studies on poststructural feminism, sexism, and gender acquisition in early childhood. This study discusses gender role acquisition, criticisms of gender acquisition theories, and the factors affecting gender acquisition using the poststructural feminist approach toward gender acquisition.