Representation and Portrayal of Gender in English-Language Muslim Children’s Books

• In Event: 228 - Section on Sociology of Culture Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 08. Culture and Media

Abstract

Serving as a research proposal, this paper intends to lay the groundwork of a study that aims to find out any differences in the representation and the portrayal of gender in Muslim children’s books (including picture books and storybooks) written for the English-speaking audience. My main goal in this study is to reveal whether Muslim women and girls have equal representation and whether their portrayals bear stereotypical elements regarding the gender roles.

While there are many studies dealing with gender representation in various cultural products including children’s books, there is no study that specifically focuses on gender representation on religious children’s books. By reviewing the relevant themes at the intersection of gender, children’s books, and religion (Islam), I hope to fill the void in the literature.

I will here utilize a mixed-method approach. While the qualitative analysis will find out any indoor vs. outdoor activity differences in the stories, the quantitative analysis will tell if there is difference in the representation of gender between male and female authors or American and non-American authors and/or publishers. The gender representations will also include the existence of female characters in the title and on the cover, and their centrality within the storyline along with possible depictions of females in traditional gender roles (being housewives or being in hijab, the Muslim headscarf). I will first review the past research. Then I will describe and explain several key concepts and themes. After the statement of the hypotheses, I will finally discuss my data and methods.

Author

• Kemal Budak, Emory University