Gender roles in children's books

Man is in a lifelong interaction with the environment he was born into. This interaction, which starts from the first moment of birth, is one of the biggest factors in the development of an individual's behavior and mentality. Society not only shapes the behavior and thought structures of the individuals that compose it, but also subjects them to various classifications. At the beginning of the classifications that the society separates individuals, the male/female classification in the context of gender comes first and various gender roles are attributed to the individual by the society. In line with this classification, individuals acquire and shape their perceptions of gender characteristics and gender roles under the influence of their environment throughout a process starting from their childhood. Children's books that support children's linguistic and intellectual skills and introduce them to different subjects, events and ideas; plays a major role in the formation of the perception of gender roles in the realm of thought, knowledge, attitude and behavior. The aim of this study is to determine how gender roles are included in children's books. The research was conducted using the case study model, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group consists of 10 domestic and 10 foreign books selected by stratified sampling method among the books that are common in the children's books section of the public libraries of Sakarya province and its districts. The data were obtained from the expressions used by examining 20 books within the context of gender roles. Combining similar expressions, gender roles as women, men, girls and boys; 7 categories were created: "characters attributed to genders", "personal characteristics attributed to genders", "occupations attributed to genders", "actions attributed to genders" "objects attributed to gender", "physical elements attributed to gender" and "places with genders". In the study, the representation of male and female characters was not included in equal proportions; It has been analyzed that the representation of the male figure is much more than the representation of the female figure. At the same time, it was concluded that traditional gender roles are frequently included in the children's books examined and women and men are shown with gender stereotypes.