California State University, Northridge a Study And

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE A STUDY AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NON-SEXIST LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Educational Psychology by Barbara Rigney August 1988 The Thesis of Barbara Rigney is approved: Terry Kaplan j California State University, Northridge i i DEDICATION To my daughter, Kate, for her loving presence during my return to school. To my family and friends, for their support and belief in me. i i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank Dr. Rose Bromwich for her suggestions and support throughout the writing of this paper. I especially appreciate the time she took in reading and revising it with me. She has been a wonderful, encouraging teacher. I am grateful to Dr. Betsy Ringsmuth for taking time from her busy schedule to read and respond to this paper and for her editorial skills. She has given me much direction in the field of early childhood. Many thanks to Terry Kaplan for listening to me, for her thoughts regarding children's books, and for her exemplary editorial comments. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ••• • 0 • • • • • iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv ABSTRACT . ~ . vii CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE . 1 Introduction . 1 Purpose . 1 Background . 2 Rationale . 2 Scope and limitations . 4 Definitions . 4 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 7 Introduction ••••• . 7 Biological Sex Differences 8 Life Experience Differences • 9 Sex-role Development ••••• 10 Sex-role Stereotypes ••• 12 Theories • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15 Biological and Psychoanalytic Theories 16 Social Learning Theories •••••••• 17 Cognitive-Developmental Theories 18 Conclusions ••••••••••••••••••• 19 Development of Sex Roles ••••••••• 20 Sex Role Acquisition and Selection •••• 21 Mothers, Fathers, Peers and Sex Typing ••••• 22 Recent Developments in the Study of Sex Roles 24 3 PROCEDURE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 26 Theoretical Framework/Introduction • • 26 Collecting Data/Public Libraries • • • • 26 Limitatios/Problems Encountered • 27 General Information Gathered from Libraries • 28 Collecting Data/Bookstores • • • • • • • • • • • 29 Limitatios/Problems Encountered • • • • • • 30 General Information Gathered from Bookstore Owners/Managers • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 30 v TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER Identifying Criteria for Book Selection . 31 Analyzing Materials ••••• . 32 Criteria for Selection of Books •••• 33 Check the Illustrations • • • • . 33 Check the St oryl i ne • • • • • • 33 Look at the Lifestyles ••••• 34 Weigh the Relationships Between People 34 Note the Heroines and Heroes • • •••• 35 Consider the Effects on the Child's Self-image 35 Watch for Loaded Words • • • • • • •• 36 Watch for Stereotypes ••••••••••• 36 Watch for Expression of Feelings by Both Males and Females •••••••• 36 Look for Well-developed Characterization 37 Watch for Females and Males in Flexible, Diverse Roles ••••••••••• . 37 Watch for Behaviors Exhibited by Male and Female Characters ••••••••••••••• 38 Books That Did Not Reach My Criteria •• 38 Fairy Tales--A Special Consideration ••••• 39 Suggestions for Using the Bibliography 39 Special Points to Consider ••• . 39 4 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 41 Books Suggested for Toddlers •••••• . 41 Books Suggested for Preschoolers 45 Books Suggested for Kindergarten, First and Second Graders ••• 55 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS •• • $ • • 64 Sex-role Learning 64 Children's Literature 65 Parents and Teachers • . 66 Non-sexist Literature . 67 Society and Cultural Change . 68 REFERENCES . 71 APPENDICES A List of Los Angeles Public Libraries Visited 78 B Correspondence Relating to Project ••••• 80 vi . ) ABSTRACT A STUDY AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NON-SEXIST LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN by Barbara Rigney Master of Arts in Educational Psychology The purpose of this project is to provide a theoretical framework for the childhood task of acquiring a gender identity and to compile an annotated bibliography of non-sexist children•s literature. A 1 ist of non-sexist children•s books and the criteria used to select these books for use by parents and teachers is provided. The paper includes a discussion of sex-role development and socialization differences between females and males. It concludes with comments on the effective use of non-stereotypical materials and on the responsibility of adults in making available to children books which reflect the changes taking place in our society. vii I have attempted to supply a list of books that I believe are of literary quality, availability and non-sexist. The books are selected for three age groups: toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten, first and second graders. Public libraries and recommended bookstores within the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County are listed as literature resources for this bibliography. viii Q • CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE Introduction How do children acquire a gender identity? Clearly, anatomy alone does not explain how sex roles are learned. These roles are being communicated to young children by the expectations placed on them by significant adults in their lives and by many other influences in our society. "Sex role stereotypes are transmitted to children quite early in life and with remarkable efficiency and significant impact" (Cann & Garnett, 1984, p. 333). One vehicle for the presentation of societal values and roles to the young child is children•s books with pictures. If these books are sexist in nature, they help promote the stereotypes that children encounter. Early education is needed in the home and in the schools to counteract these stereotypes and provide exposure to non-sexist literature. Purpose The purpose of this project is to provide parents and teachers with an annotated bibliography of non-sexist children•s books and a list of resource locations, such as public libraries and bookstores located in the San Fernando Valley, the northwest section of Los Angeles. I trust that this bibliography will help parents and 1 2 teachers realize that children receive hidden messages about themselves and others of their sex through illustrations, language and the content of their books. Parents and teachers have a unique opportunity to present non-sexist role models through literature. Background I developed an interest in this topic both professionally and personally. Professionally, for the past 4 years, I have been facilitating Parent Education Groups for the Los Angeles Unified School District Adult School and the Preschool Laboratory at California State University, Northridge. Many parents have brought up questions about how to raise children without restricting them by sex role stereotypes. My personal interest in this topic is related to my past experience in my own family. Raised in a traditional environment as the eldest of four brothers and four sisters, I had the opportunity to note first-hand the differential treatment of boys and girls in my family and other families that I knew. Now, as a parent of a young daughter, I am aware of her cognitive, physical, social and emotional selections and preferences based on gender. I want to give her the widest view possible, based on her ability, allowing maximum opportunity for choices and options. Rationale Gender restrictions often cripple boys and girls in terms of future self-concepts, occupational choices and interpersonal 3 relationships. "Studies of children•s vocational aspirations indicate that children learn quite early what roles society expects of them" (Gough, 1976, p. 16). In principle, children of both sexes are brought up as people; in practice, gender is a highly significant factor in their upbringing and there are differences in the socialization of boys and girls. Although the existence of the double standard based on gender has long been acknowledged, problems resulting from rigidly assigned roles have only recently gained widespread attention. One of the responsibilities of parents is to put before children those literary works we consider most worthy of their time and attention. This annotated bibliography will give information to parents about quality non-sexist children•s literature available to them to save them the time of finding these materials on their own. Many parents consider good books part of the optimum environment they provide for their children. Good books should be an important part of growing up because they deal with many of the universal questions people have struggled with over the centuries. Good literature is "precise, intelligent, colorful, sensitive and rich in meaning, it offers the child a way of expressing what he or she feels" (Bettelheim, 1976, p. 12). Books can also serve as socializers and encourage discussions between parents and children. Using books that do not represent sexist stereotypes might also help in raising their level of awareness of the restrictive nature of all rigid sex roles. 4 Scope and Limitations The scope of this paper includes a brief examination of theory and research on sex-role acquisition and the ramification of stereotyped attitudes, and aspects of non-sexist childrearing, particularly the literature parents choose to read to their children. I have chosen to use books found in the local libraries and bookstores in order to supply interested parents and teachers with a convenient resource list. I will limit the resource list to those children•s books available in the geographical area known as the northwest section of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. I chose this area because I work with

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