Ecclectica: April 2006

Personal Statement

Fairy tales, picture books and other children's literature have played an important role in shaping my own personal opinions of the world. I still remember as a child hiding in my closet, when I felt the world was crashing down around me, with my favorite books and tales in hand and slipping off into a dream world filled with beautiful people and heroic adventures. I remember wishing on the night stars to grow up beautiful enough to catch the eyes of a handsome hero. Growing older and becoming more aware of my reality, I gradually made my way out of the entrapment of my dream world. However, even now at times I find myself confused between what really is and what I would like to be true. Sometimes wondering, if I became more beautiful, would the world around me magically transform into a picture perfect happy ending? Was I not perfect, good or beautiful enough of a woman to deserve such happiness? But, of course I know the difference between tales of fantasy and the reality of life!!

Every culture has its popular tales for children to read, these tales and stories encompass the culture's core values and morals. Why then are the meanings, morals and values portrayed through children's literature so important to body image and well being of women? The messages and underlying meanings of a story that young boys and girls may learn are important in their own lives. Popular messages in children's literature include: emphasis on physical beauty; reinforcement of traditional gender roles; and, gender strain on the ability to engage in a variety of activities. The messages portrayed in children's literature may hinder their self-esteem, and may limit their perception of their own abilities in life.

Introduction

The very moment a child is born it is labeled as either a 'boy or girl', which determines the roles the child will be expected to fulfill. From this point forward, every instant of that child's life is bombarded with numerous agents to guide him/her in fulfilling her/his 'appropriate' gender roles. These agents include: parents, siblings, peers, school, T.V, books, etc... However, much of what is coined as 'appropriate' gender role behavior is confounded with sexist stereotypes. These stereotypes blur the perception between what is real and what some would like reality to be.

My research focuses on female gender role sexism produced by fairytales, picture books, and other literature directed towards children. The key concepts of this paper include: children's literature, sexist stereotypes, and the implications of this literature involving female gender role expectations. Some questions I have discussed include: Are females represented equally to males in children's literature? How does children's literature portray the female gender role? Has the perception of women in children's literature changed with the reality of women's positions in the real world? Are there any repercussions or consequences of gender role sexism produced by children's literature? The theoretical lens that I have analyzed the collected data through is a feminist perspective. Particularly, socialist feminism, which focuses on traditional gender roles in the family structure and the capitalistic and patriarchy system in which we live, as key to women's inferior positions.

Children's literature plays a key role in shaping a child's perception of those around her/him and the world they live in. In our culture books are paramount to the transmission of our beliefs and values to upcoming generations. It is vital to understand the messages that children's literature sends to them about the role expectations of females in order to understand how they view real life.

Literature Review

As a consequence of many different women's movements, we have seen a growing awareness of the way women are portrayed in children's literature. There is a growing collection of research in not only the way females are portrayed compared to males, but also the number of times females appear in leading roles, the messages these images propose, and how children respond to these messages.

Through the lens of children's literature, history has shown itself to be predominantly male orientated. Changes can be seen through comparing the ratio of males to females represented in literature as Carole M. Kortenhaus and Jack Demarest (1993)[1] found in their study of the frequency of males to females in picture books. In their research of children's literature in the 1940s to the 1980s, they discover an increase in the representation of female characters. The increase found females were equally represented in terms of frequency as males in the 1980s. Angela M. Gooden and Mark A. Gooden (2001) noted similar findings in a more recent study. Gooden and Gooden concluded that female representation as the main character equally paralleled that of the males.[2] Therefore, we can see the frequency of female characters in children's literature as well as the role of females as the main character has increased in current years. However, the male to female ratio was dramatically different when specifically examining parents in children's picture books. David A. Anderson and Mykol Hamilton (2005)[3] revealed that fathers appeared in only about (47%) half as many scenes as mothers, of the 200 children's picture books. This may suggest that the degree to which females appear in children's literature varies with the role that they possess.

Although there has been an increase in the frequency of female characters there are still discrepancies in the way these female characters are being portrayed. Personality characteristics and the activities engaged by such females in children's literature is still predominantly stereotyped. Even literature characterized as "nonsexist" was shown to still portray female characters in female-stereotypic personalities and activities when compared with literature categorized as "sexist" in a study by Amanda B. Diekman and Sarah K. Murnen (2004)[4]. Carol Adams and Rae Laurikietis (1976)[5] explain the distinction between male and female sex roles through examples taken from children's books used widely in the classrooms. The adult roles for females include: mother, aunt, and grandmother, whereas the adult roles for males include: father, uncle, grandfather, postman, farmer, fisherman, shop or business owner, policeman, builder, bus driver, train driver, and railway porter (p. 41). A clear difference can be seen with this example in the limited variety of roles played by women in these books compared to the vast majority of roles played by men.

Sexist stereotypes are not only apparent in the roles that males and females are portrayed in, these stereotypes are also apparent when looking at personality characteristics exhibited by the characters in children's literature. Studies show that male characters were portrayed as predominantly masculine and exhibited few feminine traits and no male characters were classified as androgynous, whereas female characters were portrayed as androgynous and as traditionally feminine (Susan D. Witt, 1997[6]). Female beauty is also an important factor in fairy tales, and seems to be a dominant theme. Lori Baker-Sperry and Liz Grauerholtz suggest that "feminine beauty is a dominant theme and that tales with heavy emphases on feminine beauty are much more likely to have survived"[7] (p.711). Gender stereotyping is also seen in books about mothers and fathers, and their attitudes towards children. Studies show that fathers were portrayed as unaffectionate and indolent when it came to feeding, carrying the babies, and talking with the children, whereas mothers made the most contact with the babies, did most of the feeding and expressed more emotion with their children (Anderson and Hamilton, 2005).

Fairy tales are important pieces of children's literature that have had a lasting impact on our society. The classic tales have been retold through many generations and nowadays have been transformed into major film productions treasured by not only children but by all ages. Fairy tales and folklore have captured women in "classical" female roles, such as the industrious housewife. Fairy tales can be taken to have strong underlying messages including; only good industrious girls will be beautiful, whereas those who are not industrious are ugly and lazy and, beauty is rewarded and lack of beauty is punishable (Lori Baker-Sperry and Liz Grauerholz, 2003). Fairy tales portray a female's beauty as the most important aspect of a woman and sends the message that all women should strive to achieve and maintain physical beauty. Feminine beauty is not the only 'hidden message' contained in the pages of fairy tales, Adams & Laurikietis (1976) reveal other possible underlying messages including: lovely maidens and princesses usually must wait passively for a prince to save them and change their lives, none of the females do anything worthwhile, happy endings are those where marriage was the outcome, men are independent and brave and do all the brainwork, and, the most important decision a woman can make is who her future husband will be. The trivialization of the gender roles females present in children's literature has been shown to increase sexist beliefs and behaviors (Diekman & Murmen, 2004).

Why are the messages produced by children's literature important? Children learn the values and beliefs of their culture through the transmission of stories and tales. "Literature revealed that their identity and self-esteem could be affected by negative portrayals of their gender" (Gooden and Gooden, 2001 p.89). Jan M. Ochman (1996)[8] studies some of the effects of non-gender role stereotypes in children's literature on children's self esteem. It was found that girls had a greater increase in self-esteem if they heard stories about an achieving girl rather than an achieving boy. Boys showed a comparable pattern; their self-esteem increased after they heard stories about an achieving boy rather than an achieving girl. This implies that if children hear stories about strong, competent boys, but not girls, the boys are most likely to experience an increase in self-esteem, whereas the girls' self-esteem will not improve. It is possible that the 'traditional' portrayal of females in children's literature may also lead to damaging the life experiences young women allow themselves. Because of damaged self-esteems' some young women may not believe that they can do a variety of jobs or careers, and may limit themselves.

The focus on sexist stereotypes towards females in children's literature has increased since the 1970's[9]. There is a growing field of research focusing on examining and challenging the 'traditional' roles, characteristics, and idealistic physical appearance that females have portrayed in literature. Fairy tales, for example, have been revised by authors such as Jack Zipes (1986)[10] in his book, "Don't Bet on The Prince" and more recently Barbara G. Walker (1996)[11] in her book "Feminist Fairy Tales". Although you may still find a beautiful princess and a handsome prince in these tales, the twist may come when the princess saves the prince or simply decides to leave him behind and actively fulfill her own dreams of becoming a warrior. I think the most important feature offered by these feminist fairytales resides in variety. At a time when men and women are viewed as equals by much of the population, it is crucial that the stories children are exposed to reflect the variety of paths offered to them in real life. Thus, it is important for females to be portrayed in different roles than what was viewed as 'traditional'. These other roles may include businesswomen, warrior, single, post women, truck drivers...etc. to reflect the options that females have in front of them today.

Discussion

While examining the literature that I have collected I have been analyzing the studies through the lens of socialist feminism. From this perspective, a women's inferior position is seen as linked to the capitalistic and patriarchy system and the family structure within this system (Van Der Veen, 2001; Ritzer and Goodman, 2004). Although the focus of this paper concentrates on female characters and the stereotypes produced by images and stories in children's literature, it is important to mention that male characters are not also subjected to stereotypes. Thus, it is in the structuring of society that has caused the 'traditional' stereotypes that have trapped women (and men) to remain central themes in children's literature for so many generations, and it is within the structuring of society where the solutions will reside. Socialist feminism "sees oppression as having psychological and sociological roots, the female is seen as a victim of the corruption of a society which accompanies class distinctions"[12]. This paper makes a connection between the traditional female stereotypes in children's literature and the effects that these images and stories may have on children and females in real life. Also, this theory explains that the objectification and categorizing of females in the traditional sex stereotyped view can be diluted by introducing new and revised tales and books that portray women in a wider range of roles.

Conclusion

My research has focused on female gender role sexism produced by fairytales, picture books, and other literature directed towards children. I have revealed that in general, females are increasing as central characters in children's literature, however this depends on the role that the female is portrayed doing. I have discussed how the 'traditional' types of roles, the personality characteristics (e.g. women as passive and men as active) and the feminine beauty ideal have remained common themes in popular children's literature. I have also looked at possible consequences for females rooting form these consistent common themes such as, self-esteem issues, deterring females from pursuing further dreams, and sexist beliefs and behaviours. I have also briefly discussed the changes that have begun to take place involving the introduction of females to a variety of roles, and the importance of this. It is important to continue research in this area, and continue the expansion of females' positions in children's literature.

It is my opinion that children as well as adults have a hard time distinguishing stereotypes and the way females are portrayed in literature may affect the way children portray themselves and there abilities in the world they live in. The lives of women are changing in our society, and it is important to mirror this change in children's literature as well.

List of References

Adams, Carol and Laurikietis, Rae. The Gender Trap: A Closer Look at Sex Roles. London: Virago Ltd, 1976.

Anderson, David A. and Hamilton, Mykol. "Gender Role Stereotyping of Parents in Children's Picture Books: The Invisible Father." Sex Roles 52, no. ¾ (2005): 145.

Baker-Sperry, Lori and Grauerholz, Liz. "The pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children's Fairy Tales." Gender & Society 15, no. 5 (2003): 711-726.

Bromberg, Sarah. "Feminist Issues In Prostitution." 1997. http://www.feministissues.com/index.html.

Code, Lorraine. Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2000.

Diekman, Amanda B. and Murmen, Sarah K. "Learning to Be Little Women and Little Men: The Inequitable Gender Equality of Nonsexist Children's Literature." Sex Roles 50, no. 5/6 (2004): 373.

Gooden, Angela M. and Gooden, Mark A. "Gender Representation in Notable Children's Picture Books: 1995-1999." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 45 (2001): 89.

Kortenhaus, Carole M. and Demarest, Jack. "Gender Role Stereotyping in Children's Literature: An Update." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 28, no. 3-4 (1993): 219.

Matlin, Margaret W. The Psychology of Women, 5[th] ed. Belmont: Thompson Learning, Inc., 2004.

Ochman, Jan M. "The Effects of Nongender-Role Stereotyped, Same-Sex Role Models in Story Books on The Self-Esteem of Children in Grade Three." Sex Roles 35 (1996): 711.

Ritzer, George and Goodman, Douglas J. Modern Sociological Theory, 6[th] ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2004.

Van Der Veen, E. Wilma, Ph.D. "Feminist Theories." 2001. http://husky1.stmarys.ca/~evanderveen/wvdv/Gender_relations/Feminist_theories.htm.

Walker, Barbara G. Feminist Fairy Tales. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996.

Witt, Susan D., Ph.D. "Boys Will be Boys, and Girls Will be…Hard to Find: Gender Representation in Third Grade Basal Readers." School of Home Economics & Family Ecology. The University of Akron (1997).

Zipes, Jack. Don't Bet on The Prince. New York: Routledge, 1986.

Endnotes