Bias in Gender Roles

Paper Summary:

Many children's books contain myths and stereotypes which, although they appear to be commonsense understanding, are actually completely inaccurate. Children learn from text and images that represent the culture, and then they organize their perceptions of the world based on that information. This paper makes use of symbolic interactionism and structural functionalism to argue that gender as it is depicted in children's books has a social purpose and that very young children are capable of interpreting the meaning. The four themes of gender bias, gender role socialization, gender-based traits, and pseudo gender equality are discussed.

Outline:
Introduction
Gender Bias
Gender Role Socialization and Stereotypes
Pseudo Gender Equality
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"At the same time, Gooden and Gooden provide a persuasive rationale for the over-abundance of males in children's books and picture books they surveyed that were published from 1995 to 1999. The authors were all simply accepting of the traditional view of the work role assigned to the male, and these values were therefore promoted in the books. Diekman and Murnen found that even in nonsexist books for children, gender segregation and the traditional idealization of femininity result in an unequal representation of the sexes. The patterns pointed out by these authors exist for a purpose. That purpose, as is perceived through structural functionalism, is to maintain social equilibrium which depends on male dominance and female subservience. Symbolic interactionism allows us to see that very young children are aware of and are quite capable of interpreting and internalizing these patterns through the books they encounter."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, D. & Hamilton, M. (2005). Gender role stereotyping pf parents in children's picture boos: The invisible father. Sex Roles, 52 (3/4), 145-152.
• Diekman, A. & Murnen, S. (2004). Learning to be little women and little men. Sex Roles, 50 (5/6), 373-386.
• Gooden, A. & Gooden, M. (2001). Gender representation in notable children's picture books: 1995-1999. Sex Roles, 45 (1/2), 89-101.
• Tepper, C. & Cassidy, K. (1999). Gender differences in emotional language in children's picture books. Sex Roles, 40 (3/4), 265-281.
• Turner-Bowker, D. (1996). Gender stereotyped descriptors in children's picture books: Does 'Curious Jane' exist in the literature? Sex Roles, 35 (7/8), 461-489.

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