Once Upon a Time, There Were a Princess and a Prince...: Gender Representations in Children’s Narratives

Authors

  • Constantina Xavier Filha Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-026X2011000200019

Abstract

Gender representations in fairy tales were the focus of an action research with public school children in Campo Grande, Brazil. This paper is part of a larger study, funded by CNPq, which involves two moments: bibliographical reasearch for the selectio and analysis of children’s books dealing with sexuality, gender and diversity, and the action research with children and adolescents. In this second moment, the emphasis is on the discussion of narrative and pictorial texts produced by the children and on the reading of the books selected. This paper presents some of the data collected in the second moment of the project. We seek to understand how they construct gender representations based on the physical and behavioral descriptions of princesses and princes in classical fairy tales. We have observed that the representations are connected to socially hegemonic ideals of masculinity and femininity. Some resistance appears in the textual productions of the boys. The girls seem to conform to gender norms as ideal and desirable for their personal identities.

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Author Biography

Constantina Xavier Filha, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul

Professora doutora em Educação pela Faculdade de Educação da USP (FEUSP), atua na Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS) como docente no Departamento de Educação e no Mestrado em Educação Social (CPAN/UFMS). Coordena o Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Sexualidades, Educação e Gênero (GEPSEX) e é vice-coordenadora do GT 23 “Gênero, Sexualidade e Educação” da ANPED.

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Published

2011-01-01

How to Cite

Xavier Filha, C. (2011). Once Upon a Time, There Were a Princess and a Prince.: Gender Representations in Children’s Narratives. Revista Estudos Feministas, 19(2), 591. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-026X2011000200019

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2011)

Section

Dossiers

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