Skip to main content

Gendered Book Marketing



On a recent trip to a Wilko’s store, I was disappointed to see a range of children’s books both implicitly and explicitly divided by gender. Do we not give children books to engage their imagination, to expand their horizons and to bloom their creativity irrespective of their gender?  I was particularly drawn to two colouring books titled, The Boy’s Colouring Book and The Girls’ Colouring Book by publisher Buster Books pictured below.



As is clear from the books covers, the books perpetuate stereotypical ideas of gender. Whilst we don’t fully know what effect the influence of books could have on children’s understanding of gender, the messages that these books send merely reinforce patriarchal ideas of gender, and by perpetuating these ideas we are preventing equal opportunities. They seem to suggest that only males have an interest in space travel, adventure, martial arts, cars and construction, where female interests are limited to fashion, motherhood and all things pretty. This is the wrong message we are sending our children about gender.  A good read should be a good read for boys and girls, and a colouring book should just be a colouring book.



The organisation, Let Toys Be Toys, who have successfully campaigned with retailers to stop gender categorisation of toys, launched a campaign against these books earlier in the year. The Let Books Be Books campaign has highlighted the debate and has gained widespread support in its struggle to challenge the publishers and retailers.  I was assured by Wilko on twitter that they plan to discontinue the range of gendered books, and I hope to see this come to fruition as soon as possible.


It is not only stereotypical gender representations that are problematic in our children’s books, but it seems a female presence at all is in minority. A report recently found that females are outnumbered by males 2:1 as central characters in British picture books. Where there are females they are all too often products of gender stereotyping. To allow such gender divisions in books is o demean all our children. Children are not inherently born with certain interests, they are acquired through socialisation. It is time to challenge these representations of gender, and pressure the retailers and publishers so that all children can enjoy all books, regardless of the genitalia they happened to be born with.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Guide to Literary Theory: Russian Formalism

Boris Eikenbaum Russian Formalism and New Criticism very much go hand in hand under the umbrella term of formalism. They share similar qualities in that the focus of their study is on the text itself and dismisses the importance of the author. This school of literary theory came out of the will to reform outdated approaches to literature, in Russia, in the early part of the 1900s. It was Boris Eikenbaum who set about recording the principles of this school of theory in his text Theory of the Formal Method. As with  New Criticism, close reading is the key tool for the Russian Formalists with a heavy focus on language, syntax, grammatical construction and the sounds of words. It is the job of formalist critics to consider how these elements function and contribute to the form of the poem. Remember that the form is not what the poem is saying, but how it is saying it. What the poem is about is of no interest to formalists. The very basis of Russian Formalist theory is centered
Post a Comment
Read more

What's in a Name? Naming and Denaming in Romeo and Juliet's Balcony Scene

How now reader? With my Masters course entering that busy time of year, I have been inundated with work and the blog has been somewhat neglected (and will probably continue to be so). Having said that, I thought I would take a few minutes to share some thoughts on Romeo and Juliet 's infamous balcony scene and the importance of naming and denaming. In Romeo and Juliet names are an integral part of the character’s lives - particularly their family name. Whether they are Montague or Capulet will determine who they can associate with and where they can go in Verona. Shakespeare knew the importance of titles in early modern England first hand. In the same year he wrote this play, his father, John Shakespeare, was refused the right to a coat of arms, and the use of the title “gentleman” that came with it. In 1596, Shakespeare himself was successful in renewing the petition on the family's behalf. Shakespeare had also already written about perhaps the most famou
1 comment
Read more

Close Reading: Bright Star! Would I Were Steadfast As Thou Art

Key Terms: Alliteration  - Repeated sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words. Apostrophe  - Directly addressing something, someone or an abstract concept not present in the poem. Volta -  The turn of thought or argument in a sonnet. Iambic Pentameter -  Line of five feet of unstressed followed by stressed syllables.   Personification -  Human qualities given to animals, objects or ideas. Speaker  - The voice narrating the poem. Not necessarily the poet.  It has been a long time since I have done a close reading, and with all my blogs on theory and criticism, I think its important not to lose sight of our appreciation for the art. So in today's blog we will go back to the basics of appreciating and admiring poetry for what it is. I have chosen to look at this sonnet by John Keats -  Bright Star! Would I Were Steadfast As Thou Art. BRIGHT star! would I were steadfast as thou art—   Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night, And watching, wi
Post a Comment
Read more