Getting our students to recognise and think critically gender bias in the texts we use in class can be difficult if students are not aware of the importance and relevance of gender issues not only in the text, but in the world today. Why do we perform (and believe we must perform) our gender in a certain way? Does it matter that this character, or we ourselves are seen/want or do not want to be seen in a particular, gendered way, judged by a particular gender standard? Do these limit us? Do they set us free? It is important for our students to understand that these societal gender beliefs are part of a long narrative of stories and tales functioning as social engineering. This document is useful to us as teachers, outlining gender stereotypes in children’s literature, a prevalent form of social engineering, and some suggested approaches to teaching gender issues.
I like the idea of teaching students to think critically of every given text in terms of gender bias. It is true as what the author has mentioned in her article that there are no "politically innocent" texts. However, I also feel that the focus should not be on how females are portrayed/sidelined/marginalized only but to also include discussion on the portrayal of male characters in recent times.
ReplyDelete-Li Ying-