By holding a mirror up to nature, literature should do just that and not merely reflect the politically desired ideals of identity ( Peterson & Swartz, 2008: pp. 18, 20-21), it must be careful of the ideas it sanctions in literary texts, the very values it dictates, the gender models it proposes. If literature has the duty of deepening, enriching, or extending children’s lives and experiences ( Peterson & Swartz, 2008: pp. Let it be escapist, a sanctuary from repression, a secret garden within which children can identify with and rejoice in themselves. 16-18, 24-73 Butler, 2004, 2006 Ferrarelli, 2007).Ĭhildren’s Literature is not just to entertain, it has a duty to reflect positively all of society, especially the marginalized, and it should inspire and enthuse its audience. People are repressed and stultified by their roles ever conscious that they do not fit the ideal, causing unease, unhappiness, displacement, the destruction of self ( Copenhaver, 2002: pp. By subordinating our natural selves, problems of identity arise, while issues of marginalization occur. Gender illustrates the triumph of nurture over nature, while its influence is so entrenched and pervasive that it is perceived as being the natural order of things. However, it is much more than a matter of biology, “a person’s sex”, as it dictates the essence of sex, the characteristics and status of masculinity and femininity especially in the context of feminist theories ( Paul, 2004). Its aim is to ensure the preservation of society by coercing the suppression of our essential natures and forcing us to embrace our culturally defined selves ( Goodman, 1996: p. Finally, as this brief study shows, though Children’s Literature cannot on its own subvert ideology, gender definitions, or gender stereotypes, it could shape a new basis for thinking about individuality and humanity, by challenging children to question and to cogitate.Īs an oppressive political tool, a social construction dictating a set of culturally defined characteristics which define what we will be, gender is the chief cause of the evils of stereotype and sexism. In order to illustrate how gender is used both negatively and detrimentally to the perception of the self, and then to examine whether the “sacrifice” of the story for socially correct writing is acceptable or desirable, we will examine in this paper indicatively, but representatively, the presentation of gender in various texts for children, from fairy tales and nursery rhymes to classic or modern novels and adolescents’ fictions. Children’s Literature should inspire and enthuse its audience, while it could be a means of escape, a sanctuary from repression, and a “secret garden” within which children can identify with and rejoice in themselves. Since children are receptive to the values and impressed by the ideas expounded in what they read, literary texts addressed to children are not just simply for entertainment they also reflect positively all of society, especially the marginalized. Gender has always been considered as a basal issue in the field of Children’s Literature.
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