Gendered Readings: The Role of Social Norms and Textual Inference in Interpretations of Gender in Picture Books Across Elementary Grade Spans

• In Event: Reading Gender and Sexuality in K–12 Classrooms, U.S. and Saudi Arabian Contexts

Abstract

Using age-appropriate language and texts, this ongoing work aims to demonstrate not only the ways that young children across elementary grades have already absorbed social norms about the right ways to “be a boy” or “be a girl”, but also how we as teachers can better understand the role that early social learning plays on students’ engagement with texts, in order to foster broader and more equitable approaches to teaching about gender diversity and representation. Specifically this paper looks at shifting understandings and critiques of gender norms and social pressures across elementary grade levels.

Authors

• Katrina Emily Bartow Jacobs, University of Pittsburgh

• Thomas Hill, University of Pittsburgh