Changes in Sex-Role Stereotyping in Caldecott Medal Award Picture Books 1938—1988

Abstract

Sex-role stereotyping was investigated in one segment of children's literature—Caldecott Medal Award Picture Books—to determine if these books presented stereotypical or gender dependent sex-role behaviors to children through the characters in their pictures and text. Caldecott Medal Award Picture Books from 1938—1940 and from 1986—1988 were used for comparison in this study because of the visibility of the books, and they represent the initial award period and 50-year anniversary of the award's history. Information was gathered in 11 categories where sex-role stereotyping could occur in the picture books. When comparing the results from the 1938—1940 and 1986—1988 periods, a weak trend toward egalitarian representation was noted in 7 of the 11 categories, although males still comprised the majority of characters in each category. Males could be characterized as active, outdoors, and nontraditional, and in diverse occupations more often than females in both time periods. Sex-role stereotyping has decreased, however, it remains prevalent in each category of investigation for this study.

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