An Investigation of Gender bias in the Central Role of Disney's Picture books

The impact of gender bias in children’s literature has been studied in numerous researches over the past few decades. This purpose of this research study was to investigate the issue of gender role stereotyping in Disney's... [ view full abstract ]

The impact of gender bias in children’s literature has been studied in numerous researches over the past few decades. This purpose of this research study was to investigate the issue of gender role stereotyping in Disney's picture books. 33 children picture books were analyzed for gender role content. Results showed that male overall played dominant roles in the central role of Disney's picture books. The number of “neuters” in central role was also high. Figures illustrated that females appeared more as central roles in the recent Disney’s picture books. Both male and female central roles displayed a combination of stereotypical and non-stereotypical traits in Disney’s stories, but gender bias was observed in the masculine and feminine traits portrayed by male and female roles. In particular, there was a decreasing trend of masculine traits of Disney’s storybooks in recent years. It was predicted that there was a trend of vanishing focus in genders in Disney’s production. Findings proved that only a few female characters were described as physically attractive. It was possible that Disney tried to make a change on the latest production to reduce the stereotypical traits in both male and female central roles. This study suggested that Disney picture books might influence young children’s perception of physical appearance. Finally, guidelines for kindergarten teachers and parents selecting appropriate picture book selection were suggested.