Are children more or less likely to stereotype based on the literature they’re exposed to? According to a study conducted by the
So this raises an important question. How much does the literature material children are exposed to at a young age influence the schemas they produce regarding gender and their definitions of what it means to be either male or female? Do books representing stereotypical characters limit a young girl’s aspirations to be something more than a housewife, or a young boy to immediately eliminate being a nurse from his future goals? Children are often taught that girls wear pink, boys wear blue, girls are maternal beings destined for a life of childrearing and homemaking, and boys are expected to be the breadwinner of the family, free to choose their own route of being a doctor, a lawyer, a businessman, or a builder. However, given the current society we live in, while gender stereotypes still largely exist, girls are given more opportunities in the work place and our encouraged to break away from gender norms. But the problem remains, when it comes to the choice to have children, women are biologically bound to take off time from work, thus putting a damper on their careers.
Examples of children’s books that demonstrate gender stereotypes are endless. Children are taught from a young age, although they may not realize how large the impact, what it means to be male and what it means to be female. The Giving Tree, as discussed in class perfectly exemplifies gender stereotypes represented in children’s lit. The tree, or maternal figure in the story illuminates the life of a woman or a mother, there to provide unconditional love and positive regard for her son. The boy therefore grows up to be a man, and needs money to support his family. He needs the tree’s resources to make money and no matter how much the tree gives him, he is never satisfied and always needs more. Gender stereotypes represented in this book are that women serve and boys and men take in order to provide for their families.
Therefore, imagine the possibilities the world of literature would create if children’s books no longer illustrated stereotypical gender roles. Are children’s books limiting the perceived opportunities for women? Or are they simply reinforcing society’s already established gender roles?
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Children definitely learn from the literature they are exposed to. Whether the book is sending the stereotypical message loud and clear or very subtly, it happens. Children are constantly learning all sorts of things from ALL of their surroundings. These children's books with stereotypical roles in them for girls and boys are sometimes reinforcing an idea already present in the child's head or it can be presenting new information to the child that is later reinforced by other things in their environment. No matter how hard we try there is no way to avoid letting our kids learn and adhere to these stereotypes. Children are like sponges and are constantly absorbing anything and everything. It is/will be our responsibility as a parent to inform our children of these possible stereotypes and what that means. We don't want our children to feel they are limited to their opportunities because of their gender.
I think that literature children are exposed to influence their perceptions on gender roles, but also body image. As a child, you are constantly exposed to Disney and other stories where a beautifully perfect princess becomes distresses, and is saved by a strong, handsome prince. These stories are so popular among kids, but they are feeding them images of what they are supposed to look like according to society, and what they are supposed to do (i.e. strong prince saves damsel in distress). Popular books and movies are sending kids messages throughout childhood and into adulthood on how to look, how to act, and how to present yourself acceptably in society. My question is, looking back on your childhood, how have books and movies influenced the person you are today based on the messages being portrayed in them? Do you think this is a negative influence, or a positive influence?
In today’s society gender stereotypes are not a challenge to find; whether it be women in the household and men traditionally the bread winner, or little girls being overwhelmed with pink and sparkly fashion while boys play with trains and cars. Research shows that by age five, many children have come to believe that men are the ones who go out and earn the money and women are the ones who do the housework (Schlossberg & Goodman, 1972). Childrens values and beliefs of their culture are influenced through stories and books. Providing children with stereotypical messages influences their viewpoint and choices of what they want to become or accomplish and what toys to play with. The biased views of themselves and those around them prevent children from doing activities that best suits their personalities and capabilities. These messages can stunt the growth of young people’s dreams and imagination, creating the stereotype that they must develop within their defined label in society, seeing the world with lenses that were created through stereotypes. The question is asked, “Are children’s books limiting the perceived opportunities for women? Or are they simply reinforcing society’s already established gender roles?” I would challenge that children’s books are not only reinforcing society’s established gender roles, they are fueling and developing these stereotypes for children. It is constantly debated and argued where these gender roles develop and how they are created; a part of the answer begins with children’s literature. What is designed to properly shape children’s values and beliefs’, encouraging them to respect their parents, learn manners, also shapes their view on the world around them, and forms their gender identities. While it is easier to see the explicit lessons taught to children through literature, it is important that educators, parents, and librarians be aware of implicit messages that can affect children. While researching this topic I was able to find an article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children listing Children’s Books that Break Gender Role Stereotypes (see link below). After reading through the book titles I did not recognize any of the stories, keeping in mind most of them were in print when we were in Elementary school . The question I ask is does anyone else recognize these titles? Is the issue of gender stereotypes through literature a new topic that is finally being addressed?
http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200303/Books4Children.pdf
Schlossberg, N. K., & Goodman, J. (1972). A woman’s place: Children’s sex stereotyping of occupations. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 20, 226-270.
Very, very, very interesting and true. Though widely over looked, gender stereotypes are so evident in today's society. In many children's books women and girls are always portrayed in gender traditional roles whether it be teachers or nurses for women, and princesses for girls.
Gender roles became very evident to me, last year when teaching a class of second graders in an after school program. The goal of the day was to widen student's ideas of gender roles and what they represent. To convey our point, we picked children's books that displayed the total opposite of general roles such as The Princess Knight. Instead of succumbing to the general princess role, this extraordinary young lady chose to portray a knight and his characteristics. Even when asking about basic gender stereotypes the students responded as they were socialized to. Some even said that women couldn’t hold jobs such as policemen and fire fighters because they are ‘males jobs’.
This all goes back to all the gender issues we are socialized into. They are displayed in books, girls being princesses, kid’s meals, boys play with action figures, girls do not, and even toys. I am curious to know why colors play such a big part in gender socialization also. Why are girls solely exposed to pink, and boys only blue? Why in toy advertisements girls only play with Barbie’s dressed in pink and boys play with action figures dressed in blue?
The last question I pose is what would happen if we were not socialized?
As discussed in this blog post and the responses that followed, children are highly impressionable. They are constantly developing and absorbing all of the many messages that society throws at them in order to better understand the world in which they live. Our ideas concerning what it means to be female or male are socially constructed. Children’s literature that includes such stereotypes prevents and limits children. I believe that readers identify with characters of their own gender in books. Thus, the obvious lack of girl characters within children’s literature can limit the opportunity for girls to identify with their gender and confirm their place in society. Of course there is no denying the fact that the frequency of female characters has increased over the years. However, the roles that these female characters play continue to be extremely traditional, portrayed in a narrow and biased way. Speaking as a future elementary school teacher, I’d ideally like all of the children's books used in my classroom to have well-rounded, capable male and female characters. However, this is seldom the case since the book selection is often restricted to what is affordable, readily available, or contributed by family members.
I find the author's views on this subject to be very interesting and correlate to my own opinion on the matter. I certainly agree that gender roles are socialized into us from the day we are born. But how is this done? It's not like there is a person describing exactly what the gender roles are, so how do we learn them?
Picture books are one of the first forms of media we are exposed to as children. The little bit of content in these books goes a long way to describe what are and aren't the social norms in society.
Many people say "These are just books, one little story won't influence a child belief system". However, children's books often are read many times and many books have common themes. Is this not reinforcement?
So whos responsibility is it to ensure that these messages aren't presented? Is it the author's responsibility to ensure they are responsible for what they write? Is it the parent's responsibility to combat these messages with positive real-world examples? Or is it, end the end, just a story?
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