Dr. Christia Brown joins me on the show to talk about raising kids free of gender and ethnic bias.

She is an author, researcher, and professor of Developmental Psychology. She is also the Director of Center for Equality and Social Justice at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin.

Her research focuses on how children develop gender and ethnic stereotypes, how children understand gender and ethnic discrimination, and how discrimination and stereotypes affect children and teens’ lives. As part of her research on  discrimination, she also examines the perpetration and acceptance of sexual harassment and how children understand politics, public policies, and societal inequalities.

She is the author of Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue, and co-edited the Wiley Handbook of Group Processes in Children and Adolescents. She has a forthcoming book, Unraveling Bias: How Prejudice Has Shaped Children for Generations and How to Break the Cycle.

What we talked about:

3:10: When Dr. Christia Brown began studying gender stereotypes

6:55- How when we treat girls and boys differently based on gender, their brain actually develops differently

17:25- The importance of not separating boys and girls

23:05- Body image issues in young girls and where it can stem from

28:40- What we can do for young kids to ensure they don’t take on gender stereotypes

35:45- Teaching kids at a young age to be anti-racist

38:10- The importance of talking with kids often and asking them what stereotypes they see

47:20- Respectfully correcting relatives or others close to the child when they encourage gender stereotypes

51:05- End of podcast questions

Show Notes:

Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue

Be the Bridge

Teaching Tolerance

Embrace Race

The Hate You Give

Connect with Dr. Christia Brown:

Dr. Christia Brown’s Website

Dr. Christia Brown on Twitter

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