The Portrayal of Black Female Athletes in Children's Picturebooks
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Strides Toward Equality: The Portrayal of Black Female Athletes in Children’s Picturebooks Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Rebekah May Bruce, M.A. Graduate Program in Education: Teaching and Learning The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee: Michelle Ann Abate, Advisor Patricia Enciso Ruth Lowery Alia Dietsch Copyright by Rebekah May Bruce 2018 Abstract This dissertation examines nine narrative non-fiction picturebooks about Black American female athletes. Contextualized within the history of children’s literature and American sport as inequitable institutions, this project highlights texts that provide insights into the past and present dominant cultural perceptions of Black female athletes. I begin by discussing an eighteen-month ethnographic study conducted with racially minoritized middle school girls where participants analyzed picturebooks about Black female athletes. This chapter recognizes Black girls as readers and intellectuals, as well as highlights how this project serves as an example of a white scholar conducting crossover scholarship. Throughout the remaining chapters, I rely on cultural studies, critical race theory, visual theory, Black feminist theory, and Marxist theory to provide critical textual and visual analysis of the focal picturebooks. Applying these methodologies, I analyze the authors and illustrators’ representations of gender, race, and class. Chapter Two discusses the ways in which the portrayals of track star Wilma Rudolph in Wilma Unlimited and The Quickest Kid in Clarksville demonstrate shifting cultural understandings of Black female athletes. Chapter Three argues that Nothing but Trouble and Playing to Win draw on stereotypes of Black Americans as “deviant” in order to construe tennis player Althea Gibson as a “wild child.” Chapter Four discusses the role of family support in the representations of Alice Coachman in Queen of the Track and Touch the Sky. Chapter Five analyzes the ways in which Black female ballerinas are speaking directly to Black girl readers through the use of peritext in Firebird and Trailblazer, and Chapter Six examines the representation of a shared sisterhood in The Golden Girls of Rio. Ultimately, I argue that picturebooks that feature Black women in sports offer both harmful stereotypes and positive possibilities for Black girl readers. i Dedication Dedicated to the girls who shared with me their hopes and dreams of equality for female athletes. ii Acknowledgments To all of the women and girls who have faced discrimination as they enter the world of sports, I send you my love and appreciation for your tenacity. You have paved the way for me and so many others. Thank you to those who have helped me imagine possibilities for myself in staying active, healthy, and happy. This project would not have been possible without the guidance and support of my advisor, Dr. Michelle Ann Abate. Thank you for your constant willingness to help me to think more critically and articulate my ideas more clearly. Your feedback has made this project what it is today, and your encouragement has helped me stay dedicated to advocating for equality. Thank you to Dr. Patricia Enciso for mentoring me in learning to listen to the voices of marginalized children. Thank you to Dr. Ruth Lowery for guiding my growth in giving African American children’s literature the respect that it deserves. To my husband, better half, and adventure partner, Alexander Degener, I owe special thanks. Your love, support, and encouragement have meant the world to me. Thank you for believing in me and in this work. Thank you for always being willing to listen to and support my dreams. To my son, Callum Martin Degener, thank you for giving me the most compelling reason to advocate for a better world. I am indebted to many family members, friends, and colleagues who have given feedback and insights about the direction of this project. I have been so fortunate to learn from so many brilliant and passionate people. iii Vita 2010 ………………………….. B.A., Florida Atlantic University 2013 ………………………….. M.A., Hollins University 2014 to 2017 ...………………… Graduate Teaching Associate and University Supervisor, Department of Literature for Children and Young Adults, The Ohio State University Publications Degener, Rebekah May. “Title IX Story Club: Creating Possibilities for Racially Minoritized Middle School Girls in Physical Activity.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, vol. 62, no. 2, 2018, pp. 129-143. Degener, Rebekah May. “Lacking Liberation in Language: African American Language in The Secret Life of Pets.” Children’s Literature in English Language Education, vol. 5, no. 2, 2017, pp. 1-17. Degener, Rebekah May. “Dwellers of the Deep Darkness: The Transformation of Dwarves from Mythology to Current Children’s Literature.” Tracing the Footsteps of Dwarfs, edited by F. Cubucku and S. Planka, Königshausen u. Neumann, 2016. Fields of Study Education: Teaching and Learning iv List of Figures Figure 1. Wilma Unlimited Title Page ……………………………………………………… 335 Figure 2. Baby Wilma Rudolph with her family …………………………………………… 335 Figure 3. Rudolph racing …………………………………………………………………… 335 Figure 4. Relay race ………………………………………………………………………… 335 Figure 5. Close-up Image of Rudolph during relay race …………………………………… 335 Figure 6. Rudolph during Olympic medal ceremony ………………………………………. 335 Figure 7. Alta running ………………………………………………………………………. 336 Figure 8. Alta and friends looking up at sun ………………………………………………… 336 Figure 9. Alta and friends talk with Charmaine ……………………………………………... 336 Figure 10. Alta and friends look at Charmaine’s shoes ……………………………………… 336 Figure 11. Alta and Charmaine are talking ………………………………………………….. 337 Figure 12. Alta, Charmaine, and friends are at Rudolph’s parade …………………………… 337 Figure 13. Alta and Charmaine race …………………………………………………………. 337 Figure 14. Alta is celebrating ………………………………………………………………… 337 Figure 15. Althea Gibson is running through the street ……………………………………… 338 Figure 16. Photographs show Gibson getting in trouble …………………………………….. 338 Figure 17. Gibson is running away from family and police officer ………………………….. 338 Figure 18. Gibson is walking with a bat ……………………………………………………… 338 Figure 19. Gibson is playing multiple different sports ……………………………………….. 339 Figure 20. Buddy Walker is watching Gibson play …………………………………………... 339 Figure 21. Gibson is talking with Walker …………………………………………………….. 339 Figure 22. Gibson is playing tennis ………………………………………………………….. 339 v Figure 23. Gibson is depicted in a fancy dress and singing ………………………………….. 340 Figure 24. Gibson is depicted being held by her mother and her father………………………. 340 Figure 25. Coachman is running through a forest …………………………………………….. 340 Figure 26. Coachman’s father is bent down talking to her …..……………………………….. 340 Figure 27. Coachman is playing basketball with a couple of other boys …………………….. 341 Figure 28. Coachman and her teacher are watching a high-jumping athlete …………………. 341 Figure 29. Coachman is jumping over a homemade crossbar ………………………………... 341 Figure 30. Coachman’s mother and a man talk as they watch her jumping ………………….. 341 Figure 31. Coachman is competing at a high jumping event …………………………………. 342 Figure 32. The coach is talking to Coachman’s father as she looks on ………………………. 342 Figure 33. Coachman is eating lunch with the other Tigerettes ……………………………… 342 Figure 34. Young Coachman is going for a walk with her grandmother …………………….. 342 Figure 35. Coachman is playing basketball with boys ……………………………………….. 343 Figure 36. Coachman is sitting on a windowsill looking outside …………………………….. 343 Figure 37. A young ballerina dances next to Copeland ………………………………………. 343 Figure 38. The young ballerina watches Copeland dance in the sky …………………………. 343 Figure 39. The young ballerina sits on the sidewalk …………………………………………. 344 Figure 40. Copeland kneels down to talk to the young ballerina …………………………….. 344 Figure 41. Copeland is dancing over multiple days ………………………………………….. 344 Figure 42. The young ballerina is practicing dance moves ………………………………….. 344 Figure 43. The young ballerina is dancing next to Copeland ……………………………….. 344 Figure 44. Copeland and the young ballerina dance a pas de deux …………………………. 344 vi Figure 45. Copeland watches the young ballerina before a performance ……………………. 345 Figure 46. Young children watch the young ballerina perform ………………………………. 345 Figure 47. Copeland and the young ballerina dance together ………………………………… 345 Figure 48. A young Wilkinson sits in a theatre next to her mother and father ……………….. 345 Figure 49. Wilkinson enters the dance studio ………………………………………………… 345 Figure 50. Wilkinson dances in the front of the dance studio ………………………………... 345 Figure 51. Madame Swoboda walks Wilkinson through a dance move ……………………… 346 Figure 52. Wilkinson is standing next to a bus with a suitcase ………………………………. 346 Figure 53. Wilkinson is sitting at the front of the bus ………………………………………... 346 Figure 54. Wilkinson is performing with the rest of the dance troop ………………………… 346 Figure 55. The Klu Klux Klan are depicted in front of flames ………………………………. 347 Figure 56. Wilkinson is powdering her face to whiten it …………………………………….. 347 Figure 57. Wilkinson is leaving a hotel as another ballerina tries to stop her ……………….. 347 Figure 58. Four ballerinas surround Wilkinson ……………………………………………… 347 Figure 59. Wilkinson sits at a table with Klu Klux Klan robes in the background ………….. 348 Figure 60. Wilkinson looks out