Analysis Of Alison Lester 's 2009-2010 Book Series

In this essay the approaches to the changing social position of children and how it can be researched will be described and explained in relation to gender. It will look at the approaches of Functionalists, Feminists, Marxist, the dominant framework, Social construction, Interactionism and it will focus on how these approaches impact on children also in relation to gender. Abbott (2006, p.75) states that education is a central part to an understanding of the manifestation of gender. This is because through school and meeting other students, they develop an identity.

Good morning writers and guests and welcome to this year’s Youth Forum. Today I will be discussing how contemporary literature encourages young readers to look beyond the traditional stereotype. I will also be evaluating Boys of Blood and Bone, Nobody calls me wog anymore and It’s great to be mates with a Koori. Well, it is clear that literature of today does make young reader look beyond the traditional stereotype considering that the traditional stereotype is from the era of the colonial and digger times.

Upon reading the book “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture”, by Peggy Orenstein, I was extremely captivated to absorb the opinions that she had on raising a girl and all of the feminine influences that naturally surround her. The author herself had stated right from the first page how she initially wished for the child in her womb was a boy. My preliminary notion that joined this book to the course material was assumed before I even began reading, as several obvious details it became apparent that the book for sure had to be about gender roles and gender identity. The whole topic of princesses in the title, as well as the way the books cover flaunted pink and shimmery glitter it was just a telltale sign to have gender specific ties. That impression continued as I began reading the very first chapter boldly titled “Why I Hoped for a Boy”. There were such forthright examples making it overly apparent that she, the author, would be discussing the sexes, meaning girls vs.

Children’s literature has existed for as long as there have been stories to be told to children. Stories, books, songs, poems are all made for children. Children’s literature does not have a definite definition of what it is; basically, it is anything a child reads (Lerer, 2008). Children begin to learn what reading and writing are used for before even knowing how the system works. Children recognise the function of written language by seeing examples of written language that are being used around them. Many children know the difference between reading and talking, they are aware that written language is used to do things in this world (Emitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff and Pollock, 2015). Quintilian, John Locke, Saint Augustine and Doctor Seuss speculated on the ways children learn the Australian language and learn about their lives from literature (Lerer, 2008). In fact, Lerer states that “the history of children’s literature is inseparable from the history of childhood, for the child was made through texts and tales he/she studied, heard and told back,” (2008, p.1). Children’s literature nurtures an understanding of narrative structures and visual images played in storytelling, this helps develop

Every day young children are read beautiful fairy tales that showcase the man saving the damsel in distress. These stories can warp children’s minds to believe based on their specific gender they have to act a certain way or do certain things. Girls begin to believe that they have to know their place but they are known as emotional and not ready for the outside world. Boys are taught that they have to be the savior, they can’t cry, and they have to be the one to all the working. This image perverts the minds of young men and women altering their self-confidence and causing people are different to be ostracized and castaway. Some stories that showcase the idea of gender roles are, “Snowdrop and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, and

These individuals would most likely point to page 17 where the teacher looked at is a female. Even though it is the little boy who looks up to the female teacher and says, “A teacher’s something I could be” (Berenstain), obviously this story puts women into a role to be the caretakers of children. Also, football boys and dancing girls only shows yet another masculine and feminine role which this story does not dare cross or object to. Instead, they further perpetrate this idea of everyone having their “place” based on their gender. This children’s book, aimed at 4 year olds, is clearly sexist and furthering that message into the youth’s

These gender roles assigned to the male and female beings of the society found their way into the world of literature and there was the creation of books which either adhered to the stereotypical gender roles or went against it. In this paper I would like to talk about the gender roles in the coming of age novels Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Both these books were written in the time which is considered as the Victorian age in British literature.

The way, in which gender roles are portrayed in children’s literature, significantly contributes to the development of children’s gender roles and how they are perceived by society.

Well-written and inspirational literature not only has the ability to carry a reader into another world but they are able to accomplish this feat while simultaneously delivering deep messages that surpass the written text. Children’s literature is sometimes overlooked in terms of reaching these standards and being considered worthy of critical analysis; this genre is often perceived as having juvenile storylines and concepts portrayed through simplistic language. However, the common writing styles in children’s literature, often being either illustrated books or picture-books, offer the genre with a unique opportunity to achieve deep themes and messages through the dynamic

Reading novels is an experience unlike any other. With the crack of a new book, the reader is transported into the pages, into a new land, ready to take on the role of protagonist. Each little girl has the chance to be a pirate-fighting hero, each little boy able to become the doting husband. If that sentence sounds strange, it is because society has socialized individuals to gender any and all activities, reading included. Elizabeth Segel drives this point home in her article “As the Twig is Bent… Gender and Childhood Reading,” which gives an in-depth analysis of gender in children’s book, and the implications it has for readers.

The increase in acceptance of the LGBTQ has led to a growing number of children’s books focusing on issues and topics. This is important because, “through illustrations and the use of language, books also define standards for masculine and feminine behavior” (Nanahara 3). Some seek to inform and normalize families with LGBTQ parents while others focus on issues thats children themselves face. My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis and Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian Hoffman, are both picture books that deal with a young boy who falls outside of the typical gender norms and the reactions of their families and the people around them. Representations of children who push the boundaries of gender norms are important not only so these children can see themselves positively represented in books, but also for the parents of children.

Sonya Sawyer Fritz is an English Professor at The University of Central Arkansas. She teaches courses in gender studies; she specializes in childhood studies, adolescent, and young adult literature, Victorian literature and culture as well as girls’ studies. She organizes many gender study based events on campus. The target audience for her article "Girl Power and Girl Activism in the Fiction of Suzanne Collins, Scott Westerfeld, and Moira Young. "

In order to properly view a story from a feminist perspective, it is important that the reader fully understands what the feminist perspective entails. “There are many feminist perspectives, and each perspective uses different approaches to analyze and interpret texts. One is that gender is “socially constructed” and another is that power is distributed unequally on the basis of sex, race, and ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexuality, and economic class status” (South University Online, 2011, para. 1). The story “Girl” is an outline of the things young girls

In the 1970’s through to the 1980’s the main focus was the underachievement of girls. Starting from a young age before children were required to start primary school, conditioning and sex stereotyping had started. This involved the assumption that girls were supposed to play with dolls and role playing their role as a carer with their dolls and boys were expected to play with tool kits and more ‘manly’ toys. By girls playing with dolls their educational aspirations were becoming influenced through the play of these stereotypical toys of a girl. This also reinforced the stereotype of women as they were only seen as carers or mothers.

In this essay I will explain the similarities and differences with the topic of genders and sexuality between the stories Weetzie Bat by Francesce Lia Block, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim. Each of these books are mainly for girl readers and it shows female characters facing changes as they are maturing from young children to young adults.