Children's Gender- and Ethnicity-based Reasoning about Foods

A Lifespan Model of Ethnic-Racial Identity

The current paper presents a lifespan model of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) from infancy into adulthood. We conceptualize that ethnic-racial priming during infancy prompts nascent awareness of ethnicity/race that becomes differentiated across childhood and through adulthood. We propose that the components of ERI that have been tested to date fall within five dimensions across the lifespan: ethnic-racial awareness, affiliation, attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge. Further, ERI evolves in a bidirectional process informed by an interplay of influencers (i.e., contextual, individual, and developmental factors, as well as meaning-making and identity-relevant experiences). It is our goal that the lifespan model of ERI will provide important future direction to theory, research, and interventions.

The effect of gendered presentation on children's food choice

Children at the peak age of cognitive gender rigidity (age 3-6 years) demonstrate preference for gender-typed activities, toys, and peers. This study explores whether this preference extends to gender-typed food. A total of 212 Virginia preschool and elementary school children performed a card sort of food images and chose between snacks with gender-consistent and gender-inconsistent packaging. Chi-squared analyses revealed that children were more likely to choose a snack in gender-consistent packaging, even when a tastier snack in gender-inconsistent packaging was available. Further, children consistently sorted pink-frosted cupcakes for girls and blue-frosted cupcakes for boys; and a subset of children who imposed gender onto other foods did so consistently (e.g., hamburgers for boys). Consistent with other evidence of children's gender rigidity, these findings support cognitive developmental theories of gender and add a gender-based explanation of children's food choice.

Gender and food, a study of attitudes in the USA towards organic, local, U.S. grown, and GM-free foods

Food choice is influenced by consumer attitudes towards food attributes. This U.S.-based study (n = 601) simultaneously compares attitudes towards selected food attributes of organic, locally grown, U.S. grown, and GM-free food in relation to other food attributes. Exploratory factor analysis identifies underlying constructs that determine, together and separately, female and male food choice decisions. Gendered analysis of the value of food in life and food behaviours (cooking and shopping) support the investigation of the highlighted food attributes. Respondents generally assigned greater importance to the U.S. grown, followed by GM-free, locally grown, and organically produced food attributes in deciding what to eat. Analysis of the female and male subsamples yielded similar factor results. All four main attributes were captured in a single factor, associated with respondents in both the female and male subsamples who are older, have lower incomes, and who are religiously observant. Additionally, among females, this factor was associated with higher education; and among males, living in households with children and/or with partners. Additional studies should further explore the interaction of food attributes now becoming increasingly important and prevalent in current food products.