Gender differences in adolescents’ choice of heroes and admired adults in five countries

Abstract

Seven hundred and sixty-eight adolescents from five countries and regions (USA, Spain, Hong Kong, Qatar, and Malaysia), aged 13-19 (M = 15.78; SD = 1.28) years, responded to a questionnaire designed to determine who was their most admired famous adult or hero. Male heroes clearly outnumbered admired females (73.3% vs. 26.7%). There was a pattern of same-sex choices, but it was more likely for girls to choose male heroes than for boys to choose females. Over half of the admired adults were athletes, and movie, television, and music stars. Regarding the personally known adults, there was a more balanced choice of males and females, with parents as the most frequent choice. Results suggest that society continues to fail in providing an adequate supply of female role models.A clear example of society's bias towards males is adolescents' preference of male heroes and masculine attributes over female ones. It is possible that this preference even serves to perpetuate this inequality over the decades. It was suggested in the earlier studies that society presented mostly males as exemplars of human excellence and achievement and therefore it was understandable that youth would turn to men as their primary source of heroes (Darrah 1898).In recent years, the number of women joining the workplace has increased and improvements in the closing of the gender gap have been reported. Furthermore, modernisation has brought about drastic changes in the ways young people around the world access information, which is now far from the traditional linear model of direct transmission. Given these societal changes, it is worth exploring if adolescents' choice of heroes is moving towards greater equality alongside other societal changes. Specifically, we will examine if (a) adolescents' choice of heroes and admired adults continues to show an imbalance in favour of male figures; (b) admired characteristics in heroes and personally known adults reflect gender-based social attributes; and (c) there are cross-cultural differences in hero choices and hero attributes.

The politics of heroes through the prism of popular heroism

“…The analysis tests the following hypothesis: H2: Women have a higher probability of having a personal (family) hero, and men have a higher probability of having a public hero-figure . This expectation is based on two arguments. The first argument refers to invisibility of heroines in Western democracies (Rankin and Eagly 2008;Estrada et al 2015;Kinsella et al 2017). Table 1 provides additional support for this argument with 75.3 per cent of all reported heroes in our sample being represented by male figures, primarily known for their achievements in the public domain.…”

“…Finally, the political socialisation literature mostly based on the US case identifies that a substantial proportion of children and young people consider parents as heroes and attractive role models (Anderson and Cavallaro 2002;Martin 2007;Estrada et al 2015). Importantly, the political science literature also identifies that the political engagement of parents is a critical factor for likewise fostering the political socialisation of children and adolescents (Dinas 2013; see also van Deth et al 2011;Henn and Foard 2014).…”

“…This expectation is based on evidence from political psychology research conducted mostly on children and adolescents (Lockwood 2006;Holub et al 2008;Yancey et al 2011;Estrada et al 2015). We test this hypothesis by performing a logistic regression on the hero-gender dichotomous variable that records the sex of reported heroes using the gender of respondents as the main independent variable.…”

“…Scholarship on the facets of modern heroism utilises two methodological approaches. In the first instance, there is a substantial group of scholars who commonly use the terms 'hero', 'role model' or 'admired/inspirational adults' interchangeably, without elaborating on contextual differences between these categories (Lines 2001;Parry 2009;Anderson and Cavallaro 2012;Estrada et al 2015;Power and Smith 2017). Secondly, there is a growing body of literature within heroism science which focuses on different functions fulfilled by heroes and role models (Allison and Goethals 2011;Franco et al 2011;Allison et al 2017;Franco et al 2018).…”

“…Allison and Goethals 2011;Franco et al 2018). For example, the substantial proportion of empirical studies of heroes and heroism focuses on hero-figures chosen by children and adolescents (e.g., Gibbons and Stiles 2004;Estrada et al 2015;Power and Smith 2017). This research design substantially impedes the determination of possible age-linked effects thereby implying that young people would more prefer 'unworthy' or morally questionable herocelebrities, as opposed to supposedly morally superior hero-figures admired by older generations.…”