Most of the children books contains engaging stories that improve their interest in learning and developing narratives. In order to captivate the meaning presented in the publications, most of the books are published with pictures that are related to the stories presented in the context. An analysis of the content presented in the books indicates that most of the stories revolve around the animal kingdom, the monsters and numerous stories on human beings. Most books tend to assign the main characters the role of a male and in very rare cases are female characters are identified. Actually, no more than 33 percent of children’s picture books in the past featured female characters as the main characters ( Swanson, 2016 ). Male characters are identified in all the publications featuring in the adult male and male animals as well. In cases where the picture books have not assigned the character any gender, parents, and teachers tend to assign the main character a male gender while narrating the picture book stories. Therefore, these factors raise different implications towards the female character in the picture books. Consequently, this manuscript analyzes the message about female characters given to children through the picture books.
Why gender roles portrayed in picture books matter.
To begin with, gender roles portrayed in pictures books are significant in shaping the gender perceptions in a child’s mind. The pictures play a significant role in defining the characteristics and features assigned to men and women in a particular social setting. Therefore, in the young stage, picture stories are essential in building gender stereotypes. Almost all the publications involving picture stories have different roles assigned to the male characters. For instance, the lion in the jungle stories is always assigned a male character. In the real sense, the lion is said to be the most powerful in the animal kingdom. Relating the picture story with the role assigned to the male gender creates a unique image towards the male gender ( Swanson, 2016 ). Numerous factors have been linked to the development and display of gender stereotypes in children.
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Storybooks play a substantial role in shaping children’s gender stereotypes. In the growth of a child, storybooks help a child to understand the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the surrounding society (Brugeilles, 2002). This is achieved through reinforcing the child’s ideas on gender roles through picture books and stories that relate to the roles and responsibilities assigned to both genders. Therefore, this aspect supports the reason as to why gender roles portrayed in picture books matter. Moreover, the literature presented in the picture books rotates about the roles assigned between boys and girls, fathers and mothers together with their respective goals. Consequently, when the children literature is male-dominated, children are likely to develop a certain perception towards the male in society.
Furthermore, the gender roles portrayed in picture books are substantial in helping a child understand their roles in society (Brugeilles, 2002). The literature defines the responsibilities and roles divided to both genders and define the qualities and attributes that each gender should possess. In return, a child grows aware of the roles they are supposed to participate in and their respective attributes. Gender roles depicted in the picture books are significant in promoting gender identification. Through children literature, children are shaped into responsible adults who are aware of their gender. A child adopts certain behaviors from what he/she learned from the literature. Most importantly, the literature develops stereotypes that help a child differentiate among different occupations hence shaping his/her carrier from the early stage ( Swanson, 2016 ). Moreover, the gender roles portrayed through the picture books help in creating a gender line that helps the children differentiate between male occupations and female occupations as well.
General analysis of male vs. female characters
Children literature accords the characters in the picture books different roles that give a significant differential factor. Through the roles and responsibilities distributed on different children are able to differentiate between male and female characters with respect to their defining roles. For instance, most of the children storybooks have girls identified as princesses and queens with the male character including fathers, prince, and kings ( Swanson, 2016 ). In relation to the stereotypes generated through the literature, various aspects can be identified through the analysis presented in the storybook context.
Male and female characters are categorized with respect to the physical characteristics and personality traits demonstrated by each party. In most picture books, male characters are more likely to take the leading roles and responsibilities in any given context as compared to female characters. This has been the trend for all the children literature publications that has most of the roles being male-dominated. In most cases, monsters are always male characters. This might create a different perception towards the male gender by the female gender. In addition, the content, language and the illustrations presented through the picture books influence the behavior of both genders following the implications induced on both genders at the young age (Filipovic, 2018).
In the picture books, both genders are significantly presented in stereotypical terms. Female characters are characterized as conforming, sweet, naïve and dependent characters, which reflects exactly what takes place in the community. In addition, the characteristics describing female characters play a significant role in shaping how children develop their behaviors and their ability to distinguish between genders. In relation to the stereotypical tests conducted on a certain percentage of children, most of them have the ability to differentiate between gender considering the masculine and behaviors demonstrated to them. Male characters are described s physically strong, aggressive, and independent and as characters who possess a sense of adventure. Moreover, depicted from numerous picture books, the male character is characterized as a rescuer, fighter, an adventurer and they are accorded different and unique roles in different settings (Turner, 1996) .
In the Washington Post, Jennie (2016) provides her perception of children’s books and how stereotypes have shaped the portrayal of gender in children’s books. She notes that many authors have diminished the role of female characters in books and as such, young children are left with the impression that the male gender is more dominant than the female. The studies conducted by Florida State University paint a true picture of this based on the fact that only 7.5% of 6,000 picture books portray female protagonists (Jennie, 2016). According to her, this is an unspoken understanding that books will be more interesting and make a bigger impact on the market if the characters are male.
According to Ferguson (2018) , the majority of popular children’s books tend to portray males as the dominant characters. Female characters have an inferior role in the books and as such, there is no significant attention paid to them as far as the script is concerned. Moreover, there also other books where the author has not incorporated any female character at all. For instance, in Guess How Much I Love You, The Gruffalo and Dear Zoo, the author refers to all the animals by male names only thus showing the discriminative nature of children’s books as far as gender is concerned. In every storyline, male characters always exceed the females thus portraying the perceptions of gender in society.
Gender stereotypes entail different beliefs towards both genders (Ellemers, 2018). Consequently, children literature play a significant role in presenting comparative aspects that help in differentiating between female and male. Most of the picture books are written under the traditional gender stereotype that defines male and female through according them different characteristics. For instance, female gender incorporating women characterize them as nurturing, submissive, and motherly. Through these definitions, children grow with the notion of these characteristics and girls align their behaviors towards the presented aspects. Male characters help in shaping boys in their growth into strong, powerful and responsible men who can take care of the society (Gooden, 2001) . Therefore, this presents the distinguishing factors as presented through the children literature.
Furthermore, gender stereotypes introduced to children at their young age have numerous impacts on the growth of a child (Filipovic, 2018). This is mainly based on the gender either female incorporating young girls or males incorporating boys. Gender stereotypes presented to girls can lower the girl’s self-esteem or increase their anxiety. This takes place in the children setting where girls grow with the notion that they are supposed to be submissive to the young girls. This case does not favor the environment, especially that arbors both girls and boys. At the same time, stereotypes distinguish actions, behaviors, and objects that are appropriate for each gender. The distinguishing factor is necessary for the growth of the child as well.
Picture books present varying message concerning female characters in the children literature (Filipovic, 2018). Through defining the above-mentioned roles, characteristics, and responsibilities towards the female character, the female gender is described as dependent and submissive among other values identified in the context. The characters integrated into the minds of the young children during their early-stage develops into a distinguishing factor even in role distribution in the adult life. The message on the submissiveness of female gender limits their participation in different roles in the work environment (Demarest, 1993) . The roles assigned to the female character are presented as roles and responsibilities that support the male figure in society. The notion induced in the child’s mind through the literature tends to influence the relationship between both genders.
Ellemers (2018, pg. 275) asserted that the domination of female characters in the picture books dictates the responsibilities and roles assigned to the female character. Most of the storybooks have a higher percentage of male dominance as compared to female participation. Moreover, in books whose setting involves animals, male domination is still evident. There are specific types of animals that are used to characterize both genders. For instance, lions and bears are often used to identify male character while mice and hare are given the female character. In accordance with different aspects characterizing the respective animals, their characters define the difference between the two characters.
In consideration of the characteristics describing both genders, numerous efforts have been executed to break the stereotypes on the gender presented in the children literature. Consequently, different publications published from 2000 have reacted towards the efforts of assigning female gender roles that demonstrate other traits other than submissiveness and dependency. Research on books published between 19 th to 20 th centuries demonstrates various efforts of ensuring a gender balance between both genders. The comparison between the genders indicates that, in more than 1600 publications, 57 percent of the male genders have the main role in the books while 31 percent involve female characters as the main characters. In addition, every book published each year, 33 percent of the characters contain female animals and adult women as the main characters. In contrary, male gender appears in every book published each year at a hundred percent. This presents instances of male gender domination in the children literature that presents the participation in various activities as presented in men (Brugeilles, 2002).
Examples of books that break the stereotypes.
Further research presents that male animals are the main characters in more than 25 percent of books published per year. In comparison, only 8 percent of female animals take to appear as the central character. Books published in the 20 th century have been configured with different suggestions increasing the number of female characters in the publications. Currently, best-selling publications have been chosen following their diversity in gender. Examples of such books include, “The Day the Crayons Came Home” that presents a story of the rebelling crayon who is identified in the female gender. The book has the story revolving around the female setting. “Flora and the Flamingo” is also a publication that breaks the stereotypes on gender biases through the narration of the human girl who dances with a flamingo. Additional books include Olivia the pig and Lilly the mouse and Frances the badger. However, these books are considered exceptional despite the approach to break the stereotypes of male dominance in the children literature (Poarch & Monk, 2001).
Additionally, other children literature books have been published breaking the stereotypes through including animal protagonists that could identify a female in the context. For instance, “Kitten’s first full moon”, “Olivia”, “Interrupting Chicken” and “A Ball for Daisy” are sample publications that have the central character identified as female. Additional examples include “Alice in Wonderland”, “Matilda” and “Pippi Longstocking”. These publications present female as the main characters revoking the tyrannical stereotype characterizing the children literature. Consequently, they have presented a significant role in the determination of the exact range presented through the factors in the context.
Summary.
In summary, children literature is a substantial tradition, values, culture, and beliefs learning approach that equips them through their growth. Children tend to develop different beliefs and values respective to their genders following the stories presented through storybooks and picture books. Moreover, children literature influence children identity and develops their ability to differentiate genders through physical appearance and other characteristics as presented via different main characters in the picture books and other storybooks (Poarch & Monk, 2001).
As identified in the context, different characteristics are used to define both genders distinctively. However, despite gender identity, children literature can participate in building different personalities characterized by the characters demonstrated in the books (Filipovic, 2018). For instance, the view of the female gender as dependent and submissive and subjective to the male gender tend to influence the personalities, especially on the female gender. Consequently, in order to ensure diversity in the children literature, parents and teachers need to consider presenting distinct personalities to their children regardless of their gender definition. Diversity in the children literature is focused on improving fairness and being a source of inspiration through breaking the existing stereotypes of male domination in the picture books. However, apart from publishing books that ensure diversity, teachers and parents should consider selecting books that are gender diversified hence maintaining the fairness between the two genders. In addition to children literature, research indicates that critical thinking is a substantial aspect of the growth of a child. Through critical thinking, children will be able to differentiate the roles and responsibilities distributed among the genders. Critical thinking will significantly help children in their growth through their ability to distinguish different gender-based characteristics and the ability to apply for the values, roles, and cultures learned through the children literature.
References
Brugeilles, C., Cromer, I., Cromer, S., & Andreyev, Z. (2002). Male and Female Characters in Illustrated Children's Books or How Children's Literature Contributes to the Construction of Gender. Population (English Edition, 2002-), 57(2), 237-267.
Ellemers, N., 2018. Gender stereotypes. Annual review of psychology , 69 , pp.275-298.
Ferguson, D. (2018). “Must monsters always be male? Huge gender bias revealed in children’s books.” The Guardian. [Accessed 11 Aug. 2019]. Retrieved
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/21/childrens-books-sexism-monster-in-your-kids-book-is-male
Filipović, K., 2018. Gender representation in children’s books: Case of an early childhood setting. Journal of Research in Childhood Education , 32 (3), pp.310-325.
Gooden, A.M. and Gooden, M.A., 2001. Gender representation in notable children's picture books: 1995–1999. Sex roles , 45 (1-2), pp.89-101.
Jennie Yabroff, J. (2016). “Why are there so few girls in children’s books?” The Washington Post. [Accessed 11 Aug. 2019. Retrieved
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/08/why-are-there-so-few-girls-in-childrens-books/
Poarch, R. and Monk-Turner, E., 2001. Gender roles in children's literature: A review of non-award-winning “easy-to-read” books. Journal of research in childhood education , 16 (1), pp.70-76.
Swanson, R.W. (2016). Look Who's Talking Now: Representation of Female Characters in Children's Chapter Books.
Turner-Bowker, D.M., 1996. Gender stereotyped descriptors in children's picture books: Does “Curious Jane” exist in the literature? Sex roles , 35 (7-8), pp.461-488.
