Abstract
In this paper, we focus on gendered themes promulgated in three books written in diary cartoon form. Although written for different audiences, each of these books constructs gender norms in similar ways. They promote heteronormative gender roles for boys and girls by endorsing traditional femininities and hegemonic masculinities through the following themes: popularity, mean girls/bullying, self-concept and self-esteem, friendship, and adult naïveté. First, we discuss the ways in which gender is implicated in children’s literature. Then, we describe and analyze the diary cartoon books, contrasting and comparing those with girl protagonists and that with a boy protagonist. Finally, we explore the gendered implications in the books’ themes, concluding that girls and boys are represented in different manners that reinforce gender essentialism and heteronormativity.
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Notes
All emphases in quotations are in the original texts.
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Nancy Taber is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. Her research interests include sociocultural issues in children’s fiction; learning masculinities and femininities in everyday life; and, gender in war/militaries/militarism. Vera Woloshyn is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. Her research interests include ableism in children’s fiction; developing and implementing effective literacy and learning programs for children and adults; and, working with students who experience learning difficulties.
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Taber, N., Woloshyn, V. Dumb Dorky Girls and Wimpy Boys: Gendered Themes in Diary Cartoon Novels. Child Lit Educ 42, 226–242 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-011-9131-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-011-9131-6