Gender stereotypes in Canadian picture books

Abstract

This research sought to quantify gender representation in a sample of award winning Canadian picture books. A reliable content analysis was used to collect data pertaining to the visibility of genders in titles, main roles, secondary roles, and illustrations. The occupations and roles held by male and female characters were identified, and text and illustrations were analyzed for the presence of eighteen behavioral characteristics. The data revealed that the sample was dominated by male characters. However, when the books were divided into three groups representative of the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's significant improvement in gender representation was evident. Furthermore, the behavioral characteristics attributed to the main characters in this sample of literature suggests that these characters were less traditional than characters from other award winning samples. Secondary male characters were depicted in a more traditional light. Comparisons made with previous research efforts indicate that the Amelia sample is unique in some aspects of gender representation.