ABSTRACT
This chapter offers interpretation and analysis of gender-specific motifs found in our study and grounds it in what we know from related research on gender, childhood, and media. The centrality of gender in children's make-believe worlds became immediately evident upon examination of the pictures and stories. In all four countries, the girls' pictures lean toward an emphasis on harmony and have notably fewer media traces than boys' pictures. Boys' pictures, in contrast, are characterized by conflict and fighting, and are loaded with obvious links to relevant media texts. The fantasy worlds of girls and boys in our study are separate and quite different from one another. Girls use scenarios that emphasize harmony in constructive relationships. They are able to develop ideal environments according to their own desires in which caring for others is of great importance. Media texts are used as settings or to provide information to imagine worlds that are clearly connected to key concepts found in female socialization.
