Breaking the Mould - children’s books that challenge gender stereotypes
Mark Jennett
For all that hasbeen achieved in the West in terms of gender equality, women still face lower pay, glass ceilings, domestic violence and sexual harassment. Meanwhile, boys are more likely to be excluded from school to their social and educational detriment. Many men and women feel constrained by the narrow roles assigned to them and bullying predicated on sexism, homophobia and transphobia is rife. Such prejudices are fed by crude gender and sexual stereotypes and yet, while many deplore these values, a few minutes spent in the children’s’ section of any bookshop suggests a determination to affirm them like never before.
More than ever the world seems to be run by Postman Pat and Fireman Sam (even though such gendered job titles have disappeared from the workplace itself) and boys would appear to be motivated primarily by slugs, smells and superheroes. Girls meanwhile, if they can take time away from their busy lives as Princesses, might find other career options more limited. The very fact that so many books which involve activities as apparently gender neutral as colouring are identified as being for girls or boys only serves to underline an apparent determination to exaggerate any inherent differences which may exist between boys and girls and to police any breaches of the gender barricade.
The impact of such attitudes on the relative minority of children growing up as Trans or LGB is well documented but all children – and adults – are constrained by such assumptions. In a world in which the challenges of economic survival are only likely to increase, anything that limitswomen’s access to work – or encourages men to continue to define success within the narrow confines of a career – is likely to lead to unhappiness. Recent Ofsted research (Ofsted, 2011) confirms that girls continue to hold stereotypical views about the sort of jobs available to them and earlier work by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC, 2004) indicated that, while many young people of both genders were keen to explore non-traditional career options, they often felt unable to do so due to prevailing attitudes about what constituted ‘appropriate’ work for men or women. Amongst others, Francis and Skelton (2008) have demonstrated that boys' achievement at school is facilitated by strategies that work to reduce constructions of gender difference.
In 2012, the National Union of Teachers began working with a small group of primary schools to consider how ‘traditional’ gender stereotypes could be challenged in the classroom. The findings from this project, Breaking The Mould, will be published later in 2013. Amongst other things, the project sought to challenge the precept that there are “girls’ things” (dolls, dancing, pink) and “boys’ things” (cars, football, blue) and to encourage children and school staff to think about these definitions and their implications. Inspired by the earlier No Outsiders[*]project, which sought to address LGBT equality in primary settings, the project team decided to help school staff begin their research by providing them with a range of children’s books, which challenge gender stereotypes. In the course of the project, staff found other titles and introduced colleagues to their favourites. What follows is a summary of these books together with some suggestions, based on feedback from children and staff, about how they could be used to challenge assumptions about what girls and boys might like or do.
Superhero(ine)s and Superdads
Some of the most exciting work took place in nursery and early years settings where staff observed that, while many children felt relaxed to explore their identities, certain ‘rules’ were already being identified. ‘Construction’ toys might be identified as being for boys or a pink bicycle for girls. Even so, boys and girls were more likely to be found playing together than higher up the school and staff were keen to encourage all children to dress up in whatever clothes they liked, organise tea parties and build castles.
Sue Heap, Nick Sharratt and Emily Gravett have produced many delightful books for children. Heap and Sharratt’s Red Rockets and Rainbow Jelly introduces Nickand Sue who, at first glance don’t appear to have much in common. They do not seem to like any of the same things (although they do like each other) but closer inspection of the colourful illustrations and simple text reveals that they have more incommon than they might think. Both like fruit (apples for Nick and pears for Sue), yellow (socks for him, ducks for her) and aliens (albeit in different colours). Alongside learning the words for different objects and colours, we discover that boys and girls do not always like exactly what you might expect them too. Nick, for example, likes dinosaurs – but he prefers them to be pink and orange; Sue likes everything blue. The book offers opportunities to talk about how all of us have more in common than we might think, that we can enjoy anything – regardless of whether we are girls or boys – and that we do not have to chose our friends just because they like the same things as us.
Sharratt, this time with Kes Gray, scores again with Super Daisy – the story of a young female superhero determined to save the world from the terrible consequences of a collision with Planet Pea. Readers can quake at the threat of peas with everything while simultaneously cheering on our doughty hero who responds in a crisis as effectively as any of her male colleagues. For the record, Daisy is also appropriately dressed in a lycra one-piece, boots and cape - rather than one of those a stupid Wonder Woman bustier-based ensembles which, lets face it, would never stand up to prolonged flying.
EmilyGravett’s The Odd Eggfeatures a male duck who finds and hatches an egg – and becomes the proud parent of a crocodile (or is it an alligator?). In the process, he knits a fine scarf. Through beautiful illustrations and a few words, Gravett presents us with a tale that encompasses single fatherhood and adoption and challenges ideas about who can be a parent - and that caring and nurturing are primarily female skills. Every page seems calculated to challenge one preconception or another: apart from Duck, none of the bird parents featured are gendered so we can decide for ourselves whether they are male or female - and whether this would matter; “I’m a pretty boy” cries one bird baby as he emerges from an egg.
Man’s Work!is a word-free board book by Annie Kubler which shows one boy and his male carer sharing various tasks around the house. It shows that ‘housework’ need not be the province of any particular gender – and that being helpful, cooperative and capable are useful skills for boys too.
Pirate Princesses and Peter Pan
No one who despairs at the preoccupation of ‘women’s’ magazines with diets, dresses and plastic surgery can fail to be horrified by the dominance of the ‘Princess’ in literature and toys aimed at girls. Invariably dressed in pink, waited on hand and foot and apparently conjured forthsimply to land some poor sap, who knows – or cares - what happens to her after Her Big Day? While the traditional versions of this character were largely confined to the domestic realm – caring for an assortment of dwarves, wicked stepsisters (points for multiple stereotyping there) and fathers, they did at least have trials and tribulations to overcome. More recent editionsdo not even have the wherewithal of their predecessors – at least Rapunzel coped successfully with years of social isolation.
Never fear, for riding up on a snow white charger to save an entire genre is Cornelia Funke. Princess Pigsty tells the story of Princess Isabella who longs to give up having her hair done and do something useful. As a punishment she is given the worst job in the Palace – caring for the royal pigs – but is so invigorated by the opportunity to learn and practice new skills (and dress as she pleases) that she embraces her new identity and never looks back. Violetta, The Princess Knight, is raised like her brothers to ride and joust. Her father is surprised when, on reaching her 16th birthday, she is unwilling to‘put on her prettiest gown, practice her prettiest smile’ and marry a knight of his choosing. Carrying the flag for the proletariat, Pirate Girl, aided by her buccaneer mother, defeats a villainous band of male matelots. Schools involved in the Breaking The Mould project used these books as starting points for lots of drama, dressing up and other activities featuring gender blind casting. Children were introduced to some historic female pirates and encouraged to think about how a life prescribed by others and without apparent responsibility might not be as much fun as it looked.
Two other female role models are classics of their genre. The Paperbag Princess (by Robert Munsch) defeats dragons with wit and guile and has no truck with Princes who judge a woman by what she wears. Amazing Grace(Mary Hoffman) sees no reason why a black girl cannot play Peter Pan. In both stories, female characters free themselves from the constraints of stereotyping and we learn that the best person for any job is just that – regardless of whether or not she happens to be a girl.
Something for the boys…
The Famous Five model of children’s fiction – in which girls are alternately silly or compliant and boys are generally in charge of everything except the packed lunch – is, largely,a thing of the past (albeit still widely consumed). However, while some girls are now having adventures as well as tea parties, boys still often seem stereotyped as action heroes in waiting. Teenage fiction seems to have grasped the fact that not all boys are obsessed with football and anything with wheels but younger readers may struggle to find such individuals portrayed in a positive light. It is a fact that, while the term ‘tomboy’ evokes ideas of courage and individualism, there is no such affirmative collective noun for boys who employ empathy and emotional intelligence in preference to athletic ability and organisational skills.
The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein is a wholly positive portrait of a male character who prefers baking to baseball. Many of the books featuring ‘sensitive’ boys speculate as to whether they would have an easier time of it if only their goal scoring skills were up to snuff. Elmer could not care less about being good at baseball because he does not like it. Practice what you enjoy - rather than what others think you should do - is a message many ducks (and humans) would benefit from learning. Tremendously affirmative of ‘difference’ this story makes it clear that people who do not conform to stereotypes don’t have a ‘problem’ – but that those of us who find them disconcerting might well have. Nobody is bullied because of his or her identity – they are only bullied because other people cannot accept it. The developing relationship between Elmer and his father, initially uncomfortable at having a son who is not like other ducks, shows how we invariably have much more in common with other than we might think – and how people who are ‘different’ bring special and useful insights to our lives. School staff used this story as astarting point for a wide range literacy work, anti-bullying projects and as the basis for discussions about how we react to people who are different from us. Little boys who need to know that generosity of spirit may well get you just as far in life as the ability to hit a home run will love it.
Dogs Don’t Do Ballet (Anna Kemp) and It’s a George Thing! (David Bedford) both feature characters who gotta dance but are prevented from doing so bycrude, gender (and species related) stereotyping or fear of what others might think. In a charming and witty story, Biff the dog becomes unhappy when he is not allowed to practise the thing he loves - but eventually triumphs in a pink tutu. Meanwhile, George has to overcome the fear that his friends Peachy and Moon will not understand his ‘thing’. All three friends eventually learn that they can share each other’s pleasures and we learn a lesson about empathy and friendship as well as being true to ourselves. In addition, Peachy and Moon show us that ‘sporty’ boys do not always have to be competitive – and that Real Men do not have to be good at everything.
The Boy With Pink Hair (by Perez Hilton) was, so the first page tells us, ‘born that way’. In spite of this, his relatively minor difference is enough for others to single him out for exclusion. Like Elmer the duckling, his particular abilities eventually help those around him to see the value of diversity. One discussion during the Breaking The Mould project illustrated how books that challenge stereotypes and endorse difference can have a widespread, positive impact on all children. Talking about this particular story, several children who needed additional support with their readingrelated it to their own experience of being ‘different’ (“I was born with speech and language difficulties”). They noticed how some people didn’t like The Boy With Pink Hair - but also that others stood up for him –and they thought it was good that he was “his own person”. Asked if they thought he was odd,they said no - but that he was unusual and some people don’t like that.
The Different Dragonby Jennifer Bryan illustrates how, as one Year 5 boy put it so eloquently, ‘stereotypes stop you doing stuff’. In a story told by one of his two Mums, Noah counsels a dragon who does not want to be fierce anymore. “I know that there are lots of different ways to be a dragon”, he tells him, “and being fierce isn’t the only way you have to be. You can be however you want.” In William’s Dollby Charlotte Zolotow we learn that a boy needs a doll because “he’ll know how to take care of his baby and feed him and love him and bring him the things he wants … so that he can practice being a father.” When Zolotow wrote the book over 40 years ago it may not yet have occurred to anyone that a boy (or girl) might want a doll for no other reason than simply to take care of it – and that we won’t all want to become parents one day – but this charming book with it’s pretty illustrations still provides a great opportunity to start conversations about why some people think that some things are only for girls or boys.
Books for (slightly) older girls and boys
Anne Fine’s Bill’s New Frock has been a favourite in primary classrooms for over twenty years. Bill wakes up one morning – and finds that he is a girl. What follows is a brilliant exposé of the restrictions and expectations placed on girls (and boys). Seeing them through Bill’s eyes, we come to realise how spurious and unjustified so many of them are. Girls are expected to keep to the edges of the playground – and not to be too competitive – but Bill also learns that not always having to win can be a strength in itself.
The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler by Gene Kemp carries a real sting in the tail. The eponymous hero turns out at the end of the story – and against all our expectations – to be a girl. Children will be fascinated to discuss why we all assumed that Tyke was a boy. Anyone who doubts the prevalence or impact of gender stereotyping will be challenged by this book.
The Boy In A Dressby David Walliams is the story of Dennis whose ‘thoughts were full of colour and poetry – through his life could be very boring’. The ‘I am Spartacus’ inspired climax – in which all Dennis’ friends don dresses to play football (“you can’t expel us all, Sir”) is a model of how positive collective action can support minorities and illustrates how all that is needed for evil to be defeated is for good people to say something.
In Girls Are Best,Sandi Toksvig introduces us to many great women who we may not have heard of before - and to stimulating information like the fact that, while 75 per cent of the world’s work is done by women, they own only 1 per cent of the world’s assets. The book offers valuable opportunities to discuss the achievements of a range of extraordinary women. Too often, we think that simply by showing children images of exceptional women (or disabled, LGBT or non-white people) we are challenging stereotypes. This is not enough. In order for young people to relate to the struggles and achievements of these individuals - and understand the need to challenge stereotypes and prejudice - theyalso need to learn how such barriers affected the lives of both women and men and how they overcame them.