Stereotypes In Picture Books

There has been a lot of quarrels over the years about how children’s picture books are embracing traditions and presenting gender stereotypes. In an article I found, author Narahara May of “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Picture Books,” discusses two major problems. One being that gender stereotypes and sexism has an emotional impact on the development of children’s identity and development. Secondly, she explains about how books in the last decade have portrayed gender negatively. Furthermore, I will be discussing May’s ideas further in depth by examining the portrayals of gender stereotypes found in the popular “Berenstain Bears” picture books. Although there are picture books now out there that are challenging gender stereotypes, to my

One way teachers can do this is explained in an article “Stereotypes by using picture books with strong female characters,” by Kay A. Chick. She discusses different strategies that teachers, caregivers, and schools can use in order to implement strong female characters in children’s books and to steer away from gender stereotypes. For example, Chick states that “Teachers should share books that include females who display a range of admirable emotions and traits, including perseverance, courage, independence, and resourcefulness” (Chick 22). Sharing books that include all of these traits in women would open up larger opportunities for young females. More importantly, it would help them to be aware of the many career choices open to them and not just the traditional jobs they view women displaying in picture books. Although, Chick makes a great point and suggests a brilliant idea on how to dismiss gender stereotypes in children’s books. The problem still exists because even though “…there are contemporary stories written by female authors with strong female characters, teachers still select books consistent with their ideology” (Louie 146). I, myself, have even viewed these problems taking place in preschools. I’ve worked in plenty of preschools and over and over again, the same traditional books are displayed. There is no diversity where kids can explore outside of what’s

With this in mind, in an article “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books: Their Prevalence and Influence on Cognitive and Affective Development” by Sharyl Peterson, they discuss the effects of gender stereotypes on affective development and cognitive development that are present in children. In fact, Peterson mentions in his work that “picture-books provide children with role models and clear images that prescribe for the children what they can and should be like when they grow up” (Weitzman et al., 19). Comparatively, Berenstain Bears picture books give children the image that females should only contain feminine traits such was managing the household, wearing dresses, and gardening. Whereas, males should only carry masculine traits such as doing manual labor, wearing primary colors, and fishing. In addition, “Pictures of characters in a story enable children to establish feelings, emotions, and reactions…” (Narahara 7). Displaying gender stereotypes through images and having children view them at a young age when they have not yet developed a strong identity for themselves can affect children’s self-esteem. In result, some children will ultimately be too scared to be themselves because of how books are articulating cultural and social