​
Gender and Children's Literature
Gender Awareness Tests
Test your gender awareness
Gender inequalities may be hidden in written language and visual images in various ways. It is important to develop critical reading skills to identify the signs of unequal gender representation in reading materials and other media. Answer the following questions to test your gender awareness.
​
​
1:
How are male and female characters represented in the following book covers?
(Brownrigg, 1992)
(Chiu, 2005)
(Cocca-Leffler, 1996)
(Stillerman, 1998)
2:
How are parents constructed by the book writers and illustrators?
The Bike Lesson (Berenstain, 1967, pp. 60–61)
Pass it Polly (Garland, 1995)
Super Mum (Lee, 2005, pp. 8–9)
3:
The following book covers are taken from two book series, ‘People Who Help Us’ and ‘When I Grow Up’. How are the occupations presented in them?
People Who Help Us (Askew & Crowson, 2009, 2011)
When I Grow Up (Hibbert, 2015, 2016)
4(a):
Who are the heroes and victims?
Amazing Rescues (Shea, 1992)
4(b):
Examine the highlighted linking verb ‘is’ in the following concordances. How are female and male characters portrayed?
the girl to the hospital. The girl’s arm is badly cut and broken, but she is going
It can’t hurt people there. The boy is a hero. He receives a medal for bravery
hill to get another bucket. The girl is alone. The alligator sees its chance.
but she is too weak to walk. The girl is bleeding badly. If she doesn’t get
free herself. But the alligator’s grip is too tight. She can’t get loose. The
People call Gregory “Superman”, but he is a real-life hero without superhuman
head comes out of the hole. He is holding Jessica. But she is not moving
slide along the tunnel. Suddenly, he is holding her. Jessica isn’t crying. She
Guy is still conscious. Even though he is hurt, Guy will be able to open his chute
has made more than 1,500 jumps. He is one of the best skydivers in the United States
Gregory stands near the hatch. It is his job to see that everyone jumps safely
break through just below where Jessica is stuck. That way, rock will not fall on
a hole beside the one where Jessica is trapped. It digs down two feet and
squeeze. The drill is heavy. The man is strong, but the work is hard. After a
the ground, still unconscious. But she is alive! A helicopter takes her to a hospital
holding her. Jessica isn’t crying. She is calm and quiet. The second man wraps
arm is badly cut and broken, but she is going to be okay. The next day
She has some injuries, but she is going to be all right. Jessica is a
including nine broken ribs. But she is going to be all right. People call Gregory
to her. But she can’t move. She is stuck halfway down the well. Twenty-two
the hill. She is still alive, but she is too weak to walk. The girl is bleeding
spinning in space. Gregory can see she is unconscious. Her chute won’t open unless
Concordance examples of the linking verb ‘is’ in Amazing Rescues (Shea, 1992)
4(c) :
Who is the hero?
Floppy the Hero (Hunt, 2014, pp. 7–8)
5:
How are male and female characters depicted visually?
​
Sweet Potato Pie (Rockwell, 1996, pp. 24–25)
Lost at Fun Town (Wilson, 2017, p. 15)
.jpg)
(Berenstain, 1967)
(Brownrigg, 1992)
Super Mum (Lee, 2005, p. 9)
Home Sweet Home (Leaney, 2004)
7:
Is gender balance achieved in the following?
​
Red Rockets and Rainbow Jelly (Heap & Sharratt, 2003, pp. 1–4)
8:
Is gender balance achieved in the following?
​
the dentist The dentist sees Jake and Jessie in his surgery. He says Mum can come
Miss Day, the dental nurse, helps Mr. Drake. She takes Jake and Jessie in to see him.
teeth as well. In the waiting room Jake and Jessie play in the waiting room until
old food which can cause holes. Jake and Jessie must clean their front and back teeth
an appointment. On their way out, Jake and Jessie make an appointment to see the
they go home, Mr. Drake shows Jake and Jessie what will happen if they do not clean
This is the Judd family. Jake is six and Jessie is three. Jake has toothache
Concordance examples taken from Going to the Dentist (Civardi, 1992)
9:
Is gender balance achieved in the following written text?
​
​
Please tell us about our website via the Evaluation Form
6.
Have you noticed any gender differences in the following pictures?
​
