Gender Roles in Children's Books

Kohler-Flynn, H. "Gender and race portrayal in children's picture books: An analysis of recent Caldecott Medal winners." Australian Journal of Psychology 55 (02 Aug. 2003): 50-50. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Peirce CollegeLibrary. 5 Oct. 2008

Literature is not simply a reflection of society; it is in actuality much more powerful. Literature draws upon society and creates its own meanings and images. It possesses the power to either nourish or discourage societal values and ideals. Hence, stereotypical views on gender relations in society are reinforced by literary depictions of men and women. The American literary canon is a collection of books that are widely accepted as influential in shaping Western culture. Stereotypes are evident throughout these texts, and often serve to justify the continuance of traditional roles. More specifically, women seem to be the target of cataloguing and other negative depictions. Classic books that are identified as part of the American literary canon tend to portray female characters in a way that emphasizes their inferiority. The depiction of females in classic American literature promotes a stereotypical view of women in American society.

Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s.

The Caldecott Medal identifies picture books that have compelling illustrations that give readers a rich and detailed visualization of the words they are reading or being read. The illustrations also add depth and additional meaning to the stories. Teachers who choose these books may rest assured that they are providing quality and inspiring educational experiences to their young students. The Newberry Medal is awarded to books that are outstanding contributions to children’s literature. It is awarded by a committee of experts who review many submissions and select the best of each year. These selections are well-written, compelling, and have well-thought-out plots and vibrantly developed characters. Students will gain great experiences reading Newberry Medal and Honors books. The Coretta Scott King Award recognizes books that further Martin Luther King Jr’s vision of unity and diversity. Teachers may use these books to be sure that they are teaching their students about diversity in engaging and exciting ways.

The difference between men and women is a very controversial issue, while there are obviously physical differences; the problem is how the genders are treated. It is stereotypically thought that the men do the labor work and make all the money, while the women stay in the house, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children. While this stereotype does not exist as much in the 21st century, it was very prevalent in the 1900s. By using many different literary tools such as character development, symbolism, and setting, Alice Munro’s Boys and Girls and John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums challenge this controversial topic of the treatment of women versus men in the 1900s.

In an article called “Where's the Color in Kids' Lit? Ask the Girl With 1,000 Books (And Counting”, by Meg Anderson, she talks about and to an eleven-year-old girl named Marley Dias. Marley Dias loves to read book, but realize there was hardly any book that had main characters that she could relate to. There were no black girls as the main characters in the books she was reading. Marley started noticed that a lot of the books that her school don’t have much representation in them. Majority, if not all the books, consisted of white boys as the main character. This little eleven-year-old girl decided to start collecting books that had girls like her as main characters and she hope to start a black girl book club. She is also taking this problem to her school district in hopes that they will add more books containing more diversified main characters. She even shares her top five books with black girls as the main character in the article.

Gender Roles and Stereotypes Explored in Judy Mann's The The Difference: Growing Up Female in America and Bernard Lefkowitz's Our Guys

To quote author Chimamanda Adichie, “Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn 't have the weight of gender expectations.” However, the influence of gender is pervasive from jobs to the military, even extending to education. Men are generally characterized as strong and independent. Women, on the other hand, are supposed to be more feeble and domestic by societal standards. These distinctions have always been the case in the United States, from the moment people first crossed the Bering Strait into North America. It should come as no surprise, then, that the societal expectations placed on gender affect literary works. Gender often conflicts with the hopes and dreams of the characters and makes it harder for them to achieve success. The flawed societal gender constructions found in American literature are adversarial to characters in their search for fulfillment. The concept of gender roles obstructing success is ubiquitous in the many works, including The Great Gatsby, The Mystery of Heroism, The Scarlet Letter, A Raisin In The Sun, and The Death of A Salesman.

It is important to teach children about gender roles since it is something that society holds in regards, but most of the time in literature it is done unequally. The portrayal of gender in literature is based off of the expectations of society and places bias on gender. Boys are portrayed as strong, adventurous, independent and capable and often play the roles of fighters, adventurers and rescuers. Girls are portrayed as sweet, naïve, dependent, sensitive and emotional and play roles such as caretakers, princesses and mothers. The roles of gender portrayed in literature are often a reflection of the views of society and do not offer objective insight. Even though it is important to teach children about gender roles, the fashion in which it is done in does not allow children to see beyond those expectations. If a young girl is constantly read stories about a woman’s role as a housewife, homemaker and mother, she will assume that’s what is expected of her and will not know society will allow her to be anything she wants to be.

How Men Are Viewed in Children’s Stories Brott ’s essay “Not All Men Are Sly Foxes” helps to shine a light on the gender bias throughout Children’s Literature. Many people expect children’s books to be free of any kind of bias towards gender however Brott’s essay tells us that more often than not men are cast in a negative light while women are shown as the lone caregivers. It is troubling that so many youth are exposed to stories that are supposed to teach them how families and life work yet these stories are twisted to look down on one type of person.

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.

"American literature is male. To read the canon of what is currently considered classic American literature is perforce to identify as male; Our literature neither leaves women alone nor allows them to participate." Judith Fetterley (Walker, 171)

Throughout the history of storytelling, there have always been storybook characters that inspire and motivate young readers to become more engaged and knowledgeable about the struggles that some people go through. Reading has always been a pastime of mine; while reading I collect new friends in wonderful places that otherwise I could only dream of. Each of these characters that I have befriended and connected with over the years, has shaped my personality in some way or another, and choosing just one seems an impossible task. Although women’s rights have skyrocketed in the past century, overall the world is still predominately male-orientated, but the world of books has no bounds for inspirational women. Countless authors have written

I observed three different children’s television programs through watching and listening at times to see how gender roles were portrayed, specifically towards children. The first observation that I made that was consistent throughout each of the different programs where that the females were either: bossy, deceitful, or very gentle. Males that were portrayed within the programs were either: aggressive, confident, or passive. I noticed that when the girls were being bossy (or sassy) they were viewed as “just being girls” rather than mean or acting inappropriately. However, if the boys within the programs were acting assertive (or bossy) they were being portrayed as mean, and acting in an inappropriate way.

There is no doubt that certain books children read are made especially for boys or for girls. Like any developmental form of entertainment, from toys to movies, children's books are often littered with hints that dictate whether they were originally meant for male or female enjoyment. Sometimes these hints can be as simple as the specific gender of the main characters, for example Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew series calls for a female audience while the extremely similar yet sexually opposite Hardy Boys mysteries fall into the hands of boys, yet other times more important factors decide who the book will best be suited for. Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and Katherine Patersons's The Great Gilly Hopkins are books for a boy and a