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Stereotypical Gender Roles in Children's Literature

The roles of gender have been shaped throughout time. Ever since our parents read us bed time stories we have grown accustomed to the same theme for each and every story; whether it be hidden with the act of a prince saving a helpless princess, or a girl being helplessly lost in the woods, the role of females have typically been one of desperation and despair, while the role of males tend to be heroic. Flipping through the pages of our favorite childhood stories, it seems as though our gender roles have already been defined for us; these stereotypes include female characters being portrayed as feminine, innocent, dependent, timid, and naive, whereas male characters are masculine, adventurous, courageous, strong, and confident.
Many researchers of children's literature have found that the majority of a book's content is usually in some way dominated by male figures. In 1995, the sociologist, S.B. Ernst, analyzed the titles of......

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Approximate Word Count: 1003
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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