Portrayed as Fragile:
I read to my daughter daily. Sadly, I have had the same realization that many parents of daughters have had all over the country. There is a very small percentage of children’s books that actually feature a female lead. Even our favorite traditional fairy tales that feature girls tend to be the damsel in distress or women play the villain. Examples of this would be Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, even Beauty and the Beast. The list goes on. While these girls are central to the story, they do not tend to be shown in a very strong light. Cinderella feels defeated by her Stepmother and Stepsisters until the fairy godmother enters the story; even then she almost does not get to try the slipper on for the prince. Snow White is portrayed as too trusting and almost is killed multiple times by her own Stepmother the evil Queen. This also makes her seem to completely lack common sense by speaking to a stranger, and not questioning things presented to her. Rather she takes things at face value; such as the corset strings and the apple. Y’all see where I am going with this. These are just our fairy tales. Stories that many of us read as children such also portrayed predominantly male characters. I am by no means suggesting we rewrite the classics, but new stories for our modern girls.
Now I am not saying that all books are designed to exclude girls. Look at the Madeline book series, Olivia, Angelina Ballerina, etc. However, the majority of girls and women in books are either not shown in the best light; or they are non-existent. Even non gender assigned animal characters are also generally referred to as “he”. Girls are taught all of the time they have to be strong, be independent, be a force of nature. I think we should be able to back that up with some characters in children’s books that are relatable to that message. Even just something for everyday life that they can relate too.
Our Past and Present:
We in America are traditionally used to a patriarchal society. Let’s face facts folks; in the 1950’s “Father knows Best” was a top rated tv show. Our father’s in many cases where the head of the family, and everyone including our mother’s for some followed his lead. He went to work to paid the bills, mother stayed home and raised the children and took care of the home. While this mentality did change over time, by the 1990’s many mothers were back in the workforce due to economic changes. So they started teaching their daughters how to survive in the ever changing world. There are also in other cultures more is expected of the men in a community. All of this goes back to our more primal hunter/gatherer mentality. While the world has changed, it seems some traditional values find a way to hold on.
Now, I am far from being one of those women who believe that women have it so horrible in these modern times of ours. Compared to women in history; women today have it good! We have rights, we have a voice, we can own property, we can have an education, we can vote, and we can raise strong little women too. It would just be nice to see more children’s books where women play a more positive role, where girls are the protagonist. Where they have a strong voice and save the day.
Comic Books vs. Children’s Storybooks:
Comic books are a great source of strong women. They are strong, they have super powers, creative back stories, independent, and in many cases drawn more provocative than a young girl needs to be exposed to. I am sure I am not the only parent who thinks this. I am also not going to read X-Men comic books to my one year old.
Many parents start reading to their children as young as possible. Storybooks are generally for ages birth to six or seven. Have life lessons presented in a fun adventures, with a blend of genders as the protagonist. Not dominated by male characters, not female villains. A happy blend so all children can relate to the characters they are reading about. Our daughters need more storybooks they feel they can relate to. Little girls who want to go save the world, or even their neighborhood from whatever evil or oops a writer can think up. The sky’s the limit! It is one of the blessings of imagination. Maybe a little girl who has superpowers?
My Plan for the Future:
I hope and pray there are some budding writers out there who happen to stumble upon this blog. I hope they understand that to keep their work fresh you have to have a blend of characters. Girls make good lead characters, just as boys do. There is a need to gender specify an animal because people will give it one, and you want it to be true to your work.
There are cases where parents need a reason to encourage their children to read. It is easier to do that if characters are relatable to the child. I have been blessed with a child who loves her books; but even that may change. She too may need encouragement to face a bully, and Brother Bear is not going to be relatable enough to her. She may want to play on a team someday and not be accepted; a male character going through something similar is not going to help her find her voice.
While I cannot control what the publishers do, and I cannot control who buys what books. I cannot control what books win awards. There is something that I can do. I can remind my daughter that she can do anything she wants; all she has to do is put her mind to the task at hand. Just like my parents did. I am also contemplating writing my own children’s book with a female lead character. To show my daughter what determination can lead to. Wish me luck. 😊
Lost in Motherhood 