Gender Stereotypes in Children's Literature

Considering our discussion on the role of women in All the King’s Men, I decided to research on gender stereotypes in children’s literature.

It seems that, since ancient times, women have been view as inferior to men. In the Bible, it is Eve, the woman, who convinces Adam to indulge in the fruit taken from the Tree of Knowledge. Greek mythology says that Pandora is a woman that opened the box and revealed all the evils of mankind. Even Roman law states that women will forever be subservient to men. It’s not surprising then that children’s literature has implicit evidence of gender stereotypes and presents preconceived notions of gender roles. In fact, one analysis of titles of children’s books found that male names were present in the titles twice as often as female names were. It also seems that in the children’s stories, girls are frequently acted upon while boys do the acting. While the girls are naïve, ignorant, conforming, and subservient, the boys are demanding, active, and aggressive. Consider the very well-known German fairytale Rapunzel published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. The story is about a young girl that is captured and caged in a tower. We can examine stereotypes first based on the fact that the person who captures Rapunzel is a woman. In this story, it seems that the evil is represented as a woman. In addition, Rapunzel only starts to plan an escape after a prince comes and asks Rapunzel to marry him. Certainly, this reinforces the stereotype that a girl’s main purpose in life is marriage. Then, in the initial versions of the story, Rapunzel is depicted as foolish and ignorant as she gives away her plan to escape. Part of the reason for the prevalence of gender stereotypes in Rapunzel is that the story was published in the early 1800s. However, children continue to read and enjoy the story of Rapunzel, and, therefore, certain impressions based on gender are formed early on in a child’s mind. Such themes of the prince saving the princess seem to be present in many folktales. Only when the prince falls in love with Cinderella is she able to be saved from her evil stepmother and stepsisters. It’s also interesting that the evil characters in Cinderella are all female. In Sleeping Beauty, only the prince’s kiss saves the passive princess from the curse invoked by an evil female fairy. Hansel and Gretel are captured by an evil witch and are fortunate to be returned to their father with their stepmother dead. Gender stereotypes are present in even modern stories for children. For example, in Josie’s Gift by Kathleen Long Bostrom, Josie, a young girl, is completely obsessed with getting a new sweater. Besides showing that girls are supposed to very involved in fashion, the story also shows the hardships that Josie’s family has once her father dies. Apparently, the mother doesn’t have the means to support the entire family, and misery occurs from the absence of a strong male model. Furthermore, upon analyzing the pictures in the story, it was found that most of the pictures depict the mother doing some type of housework. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein also shows some notions of gender roles. The story is about the relationship between a tree and a boy. The tree, shown as a female, only wants to serve and support the boy throughout his life. It can be inferred that the purpose of females is to serve male. A 1970s book by Whitney Darrow entitled I’m Glad I’m a Boy: I’m Glad I’m a Girl! is more obvious in its perpetuation of certain gender labels. While the girls are cook, nurses, and stewardesses, boys are presidents and inventors. While not all stories have gender stereotypes, some can reinforce female and male typecasts in children. The stereotypes do not always present females in a negative light. Oftentimes, males are depicted to be violent and insensitive. In addition, cultural stereotypes can play a role in children’s book. It will be interesting to see the evolution of these stereotypes in future children’s novels.

“Customer Image Gallery for I'm glad I'm a boy!: I'm glad I'm a girl!” Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. .

“Effects of Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Picture Books | Bookstove.” Bookstove | Books, Literature. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. .