A Feminist Look at Children's Books

~/ "Our history has been stolen from us. Our heroes died in childbirth, from peritonitis, overwork, oppression, from bottled-up rage. Our geniuses were never taught to read or write. We must invent a past adequate to our ambitions. We must create a future by the Feminists on adequate to our needs."-The Old Mole, Cambridge, Massachusetts Children's Literature A Feminist Look at Children's Books IS THE PORTRAYAL of females in three to one. On that score, the years children's books sexist? That is, are have brought little improvement. The girls and women assigned only tradi ALA list for 1969 gave us a ratio of tional female roles and personalities? over two to one. And when the female foot fails to fit The Child Study Association list for that often too4.ight shoe, is the girl or the same year proved more difficult woman then seen as an unfortunate, to analyze. It is very long, divided troubled human being? into innumerable categories, and These questions were the basis of a many of the books can't yet be found group effort to scrutinize some of the in the libraries. However, we made a more highly praised children's books. separate check of several categories. In our view, a non-sexist portrayal Under the heading of "Boys and would offer the girl reader a positive Girls" we found a male to female image of woman's physical, emotion ratio of two to one. Under "Growing al, and intellectual potential--one Up" the ratio was over :three to one. that ·would encourage her .to reach And "Sports," of course, like certain her own full personhood, free of tra bars we could formerly name, was ditionally imposed limitations. 100 percent male. The rest of the In selecting books to examine, we book list may not follow the pattern consulted a number of influential of this sampling, hut suspicion runs lists. These were rthe Notable Books high! of 1969 (American Library Associa The thoughtful introduction to the tion), the Child Study Association's Child Study Association list makes the annual recommendations for that following statement: The books a same year, and the Newbery Award child reads "should not shield him winners. from knowledge of destructive forces It was a shock to discover almost in the world, but rather help him to immediately that relatively few of the cope with them." We agree, for the books on these lists even feature fe most part. But why does the sentence male characters-let alone what we read "shield him" and "help him"? would consider positive female char Sexism is such a destructive force in acters. Of all 49 Newbery Award the world, that we feel the implicit winners, books •about boys outnum sexism is this sentence should not be bered books about girls by about overlooked. The introduction states also that a book's "possible emotional and intel The Feminists on Children's Media lectual impact on a young reader" are a collective of women who are must be considered. Right on! Not preparing a list of non-sexist children's even a problem of gender ,there. The hooks. The collective includes moth CSA continues: "from its inception, it ers, high school students, librarians, has been aware of the mental health and other professionals in writing, aspects of reading and asks that publishing, and education. This article books for children present basically was part of a media presentation on honest concepts of life, positive ethi Sexism in Children's Books presented cal values, and honest interpersonal in cooperation with the Author's relationships." Guild on October 15 We ask no more than that. The Reprinted from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, January, 1971 Copyright c 1971 Xerox Corporation OSA has clearly been struggling to rigid mle definitions require that a on that career she never had-and encourage greater sensitivity toward boy be all that a girl should not be: discover a new concept of herself. racism in books for children. If only unafraid, competent at "male" jobs, The difficulties and the loneliness, are their future book selections could be strong. A weeping boy is a "sissy." real, as are the child-care problems. made with an equally growing sensi Words like "sissy"-and "hero," too But let the woman find a new self tivity to the impact of sexism! Many should be dissected and exposed for reliance in fighting her own battles of the present selections fail to realize the inhuman demands they make on and joy in winning at least some of the promise of rtheir own introduc growing boys. Children's books oould them. tion. The list is guilty of sexism-if help. There is also the question of lan only through indifference. We object to a woman's being guage. No more automatic use of Of course, a greater sensitivity to defined by the man she marries, or "he" to mean "child," or "mankind" sexism would greatly curtail the cur the children she bears, or the father to mean "humankind." ,Jf at first the rent lists of recommended children's she once obeyed. Let's see women alternatives seem forced-and they books-at least for ·the next few who are people in their own right will-they won't sound that way for years. Yet, a scrupulous attitude on independent of such compensatory long. the part of prestigious organizations affiliations. And if a woman doesn't Despite our criticism of socially as would surely serve powe11fully in rais want children, or even a husband, signed roles, we don't mean to dimin ing the general feminist consciousness must this be seen as peculi:ar? ·WhY ish or ignore the mother or house of the children's book world, making not encourage girls in a search for wife. She is often a strong, wonder forever obsolete Eve Merdam's re alternate Hfe styles? Give a girl all •the fully rich human being. Her role can cent and •accurate comment that "sex possible options you give a boy for be vital, and sometimes she finds sat prejudice is the only prejudice now her future life choices, all his freedom isfaction in it. But let's not insist on considered socially acceptable." Habit to inquire and explore and achieve. that as her role. ·Men can also cope dies hard. Her options don't have to be. slanted skillfully wHh household tasks-and We'd like to apologize for seeming toward certain currently socially im not necessarily look .for a ·woman or to pick on CSA. It's just that such a posed preferences. daughter to take them off the hook. praiseworthy introduction deserved There are books on superwomen. attention in terms of its implications Okay. Superwomen do exist. But SEXIST BOOKS for the female image. Nor were we many more books are needed on being picky in our examination of women who simply function very rwell The books we read-most from the specific books: checking the preva and freely wherever they choose--or lists mentioned earlier-fell, or were are forced-to apply their abilities. pushed by our merciless analysis, into lence of so virulent a disease as sex We are bitterly tired of seeing de several categories. One, plain and ism requires the isolation of even po pictions of the woman as castrator. simple, was the Sexist Book, in which tential carriers. Even a well-known writer, whose por girls and women ·are exclusively as What would we like to see in trayal of girls we frequently admire, signed traditional female roles children's books? What were our cri slipped badly in some recent picture although the material may, unhappily, teria? We wanted to see girl readers books. In one of these, the mother be fairly true to life. encouraged :to develop physical confi reproves her son for spilling the mud We were forcibly struck by the dence and strength without the need he is playing with--even though the purposeful sexist propaganda between to fear any corresponding loss of scene is outdoors! In another, little the covers of some of the recom "femininity." We would have liked to sister (and we know where she mended children's books. learned her lesson) reproves brother Young women who have found it see the elimination of all those tire for accidentally spilling paint off his an uphill struggle to identify with the some references to "tomboys." Why easel. Little girls are as capable of popular female image will recognize can't a girl who prefers baseball to making a casual mess and as freely it as propaganda-and not simply as ballet simply be a girl who prefers lost in creative play as little boys. A a natural reflection of life. Unfortu baseball to ·ballet? picture book that does that beautiful nately the girl reader is not yet so Many women have t()--{)r simply ly is Rain Rain Rivers by Uri Shulev experienced. 'Books that outline a tra prefer to--earn a living. Can't we en itz (Farrar, 1969) which we were ditional background role for women, courage girls to find satisfaction and delighted to find on both the ALA praising their domestic ·accomplish fulfillment in work, and lay forever and CSA lists. (We were as pleased to ments, their timidity of soul, their the suspicion •that work outside the find the two previously mentioned gentle appearance and manners, and home for a woman is primarily proof books ignored by both lists.) at the same time-fail to portray ini of her inability to love a man, or to And when, as must sometimes hap tiative, enterprise, physical prowess, land a sufficiently lucrative one? W om pen if books portray real life, there is and genuine intellect deliver a power en do study seriously, work with an overoontrolling or too~bossy wom ful message to children of both sexes.

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