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Gender Roles in Children's Literature

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Gender Roles in Children's Literature
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|Gender Roles in Children’s Literature |
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|Kate Moore |
|11/22/2010 |

“Everything we read constructs us, makes us who we are, by presenting our image of ourselves as girls and women, as boys and men” – M. Fox

It is a well known fact that children’s literature holds an important role in the development of young children. It has the power to teach, offer meaning and serve purpose all while being entertaining. Children’s literature is a widely available resource that offers children a plentitude of insightful information. Within the pages children’s books lies an immense resource of tools that aid in the development of character for children, and conveys. Gender is an important aspect of development and is a commonly explored theme in children’s literature. Children gain information from many sources such as teachers, family and friends, but they also gain it from literature. Like in every culture the roles of gender in America are an important part of its culture.

Gender Identity is a crucial part of a child’s development because it helps children to see themselves in relation to others. A child develops their sense of gender at a very early age, for most children gender identity begins to develop between 18 and 30 months. After a child has developed their sense of gender they begin to realize that gender is stabile; girls grow up to become woman and boys grow up to become men. By the time a child is the age of four or five they have come



Cited: Macions, John J. Social Problems. New York: Pearson, 2008. Noppe, Illene C. social.jrank.org. 1 December 2010 . Tsao, Ya-Lun. "Gender Issues in Young Children 's Literature." Reading Improvement (2008). "Unknown." 12 3 2007. Bookstove.com. 5 December 2010 . "Gender Development: Gender Schema Theory." Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2001. Credo Reference. Web. 06 December 2010. Fox, M. (1993). Men who weep, boys who dance: The gender agenda between the lines in children’s literature. Language Arts, 70 (2), 84-88.  [EJ457107].

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