Digital stories from fathers to daughters

This paper presents the preliminary results of an analysis of the narratives told by fathers to their pre-adolescent and adolescent daughters (9-14 years), recorded on mobile telephones in the family home. Fathers from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country were asked to tell their daughter a story (tale, anecdote, joke, etc.). The analysis aimed to identify dimensions or variables linked to the transmission of gender-related stereotype construction. For example, the questions posed by the study were as follows: what type of narrative is being told? (joke, classic tale, personal anecdote, etc.); what sex is the lead character in the story?; are the semantic characteristics associated with stereotypes maintained? (emotional and aesthetic world: female gender; action, aggression, competition: male gender); and what sort of communicative interaction occurs between fathers and their daughters during the narrative? (turn taking, times, tone of voice, etc.). Once all the digital narratives had been collected, they were transcribed and analysed using the N-vivo program, in order to respond to the questions outlined above. The characteristics of father-to-daughter narratives indicate that the transmission of gender stereotypes persists and is, moreover, very intense.

For more information:

Azpillaga, V., & Intxausti, N. (2017). Socialización de género: relatos digitales de padres a hijas. En G. Londoño-Monroy, & J. L. Rodríguez-Illera (Eds.), Relatos Digitales en Educación Formal y Social (pp. 489-511). Universitat de Barcelona.