gender sound bites

children literature

teaches children ‘what it means for girls to be girls and boys to be boys’

nodelman

identity categories are never merely descriptive, but always normative, and as such, exclusionary

butler

non-normative desires represented in children’s books are often narrated as ‘troubled’

zanfrabo/butler

the presence of strong female characters do not necessarily imply a critique to gender norms

zanfrabo

women are underrepresented which suggests they occupy a lesser role then men

McCabe

the positioning of male characters within literature establish a power structure that ales dominate

wetherell

girls were usually depicted as passive and submissive in comparison to boys who were displayed as active and adventurous

weitzman

depicts women as worthless, and that it is essentially a man’s world

gooden and gooden

perception that females are inferior and incompetent

diekman and murner

if a female was cast in a lead role the male exerted his dominance to disrespect or disempower the female

le grange

if women are displayed as powerful the depiction is superficial

le grange

depictions of emotion were a prominent feature of femininity

le grange

men expressed pride and anger more often

plant et al

women are depicted as clumsy, silly, lacking intelligence and less competent

ya-lun tsao

males were entirely absent in the role of domestic chores

diekman and murner

men must ‘get over it’ whereas females can display emotion freely

martin and doka

female rectifies the mistakes or mess made by male characters

wharton, davies

mothers were the primary caregiver whilst fathers were notable by their invisibility

adams et al

women experienced a lack of freedom as mothers

le grange

mothers outside the home were still represented as domestic

jackson and gee

occupations they desired were still primarily caring jobs

le grange

unacceptable for males to display sensitive or caring behaviours and should be brave, strong and tough

jackson and gee

women are simply invisible

weitzman

male characters significantly outnumber female ones in central roles

weitzman

female protagonists did more nurturing work and were seen in more indoor scenes

weitzman