Tensiones y grietas en las significaciones imaginarias de género: una construcción desde la experiencia de niñas y niños del grupo pulguitas aventureras a través del arte

Abstract

The research study entitled “Tensions and Cracks in the Imaginary Significations of Gender: A Construction Based on the Experiences of Children from the Pulguitas Aventureras Group through Art” aimed to understand and foster processes of tension and transformation within the imaginary significations of gender that shape children’s ways of being, representing themselves and others, and interacting with one another. Grounded in a qualitative, interpretive, and situated approach, and drawing on Participatory Action Research, the study was conducted with seven participants between the ages of 6 and 14, combining semi-structured interviews with artistic workshops and collective creative processes. The analysis revealed that imaginary significations of gender become instituted from an early age and are expressed through self-image, roles and abilities, and forms of socialization, while being reinforced by family, school, peers, and broader cultural contexts. However, contradictions and shifts in relation to these gender norms also emerged, particularly when artistic experiences fostered expression, reflection, interaction, and the recognition of one’s own desires and affects, as well as those of others. In this sense, the findings point to a transformation of these imaginaries that is neither linear nor definitive; rather, tensions and cracks emerge, opening up possibilities for situated and partial processes of resignification. As a contribution, the research proposes art and children’s participation as spaces for creation and critical problematization that can open up alternative possibilities for understanding and experiencing gender, further materialized through the collective creation of the picturebook Whose Things Are They?