Katharine Bamberger

1. Gender Messages in Children’s Fairy Tales: An Examination using Content Coding and Literary Analysis Katharine Bamberger Renee Dennison, PhD Psychology Ruth Feingold, PhD English

2. Presentation Objectives Gender socialization processes Gender messages in fairy tales My study Goals Two methods Content coding Literary analysis Why do gender messages matter?

3. Introduction Socialization Occurs throughout childhood and lifespan (Arthur et al., 2008) Learning what is expected (Elkin & Handel,1989) Assimilate into society to maintain relations (Damon, 1988) Find/prepare for unique role in society Gender socialization Organize information based on gender (Fagot, 1995) Apply information to own beliefs and actions (Bandura & Bussey, 2004)

4. Introduction cont. Fairy tales Common plot elements (Propp, 1968) Fairy element Magic (e.g., curses, healing) Mythical creatures (e.g., witches, giants) Fantastical events (e.g., sleeping 100 years) From folklore Revised over time

5. Introduction cont. Gender and fairy fales Causes: Author’s beliefs(Zipes, 2006) Beliefs of the time period Means: Gendered characters Limited action based on character role

6. Introduction cont. Gender messages noted in literary analysis of fairy tales Female Collaboration vs. conflict (Mendelson, 1997) Victim (Nevaro, 2007) Beauty (Nevaro, 2007)

7. Study Objectives To analyze gender messages in fairy tales Recommended for children’s reading Prevalence of Disney images, esp. princesses Two methods New method of analyzing fairy tales Incorporate two approaches  fuller understanding Masculinity and femininity Analyzed via both methods Gender messages serve as information for both girls and boys, women and men

8. Content Coding Hypotheses Well-known tales will be distinct from less-known tales with relation to gendered variables There will be differences between the roles of heroes and heroines Gender messages will be primarily patriarchal

9. Content Coding Methods Two samples Well-known (n =17) 19th century versions Less-known (n = 18) Randomly selected Rationale: Less-known sample representative of genre that has matriarchal origins Well-known tales different because made relevant to more recent culture

10. Content Coding Methods cont. Developing Coding Scheme Based on Start list (Miles & Huberman, 1994) Read all tales twice to become familiar and extract code-able elements Condensed start list by grouping similar elements Propp’s elements of fairy tale (Propp, 1968) Sought to find common trajectory of a fairy tale Described events and character roles Generalized for all fairy tales read

11. Content Coding Methods cont. Categories of codes Character Description Events Character Relationship Gender messages Two coders Primary coder: author Secondary coder training One hour reviewing meaning of all codes Preliminary coding of 5 tales % Agreement

12. Content Coding Results Grouping Variables Well-known/less-known Heroine primary/secondary Test Variables Heroine seeker/victim Hero/heroine tested Stereotypical message present/not Counter-stereotypical message present/not Fisher’s Exact Test

13. Content Coding Results cont. Well-known tales are more likely to have primary heroines and less likely to have secondary heroines When the heroine is the primary character she is more likely to be tested and the hero less likely to be tested

14. Content Coding Results cont. Non-significant Seeker/victim Heroines are nearly always victims Stereotypical messages Stereotypical messages present Counter-stereotypical messages Counter-stereotypical messages absent

15. Content Coding Results cont. Well-known tales will be distinct from less-known tales with relation to gendered variables There will be differences between the roles of heroes and heroines Gender messages will be primarily patriarchal

16. Literary Analysis Versions of 2 tales analyzed 1 heroine-centered, 1 hero-centered Across time periods: 18th-20th centuries Existing literary analysis on specific tale Extrapolation from general sources on author, fairy tale themes, gender ideal/messages

17. Literary Analysis Hypotheses Gender messages will change with each revision either overtly or covertly Each revision’s gender messages will reflect the attitudes of the time period Gender messages will reflect those found in content analysis

18. Literary Analysis Methods Heroine-centered tale Prevalence in culture “Cinderella” Perrault (1697) Grimm (1884) Disney (1950) Variations Different time periods Importance in recent history of “Cinderella” Authors’ centrality

19. Literary Analysis Results Perrault’s “Cinderella” Voluntarily helpless/submits to orders Sleeps in cinders even though she has a bed Never seeks help “I should like– I should like–” No female collaboration Stepmother/stepsisters conflict No mother connection Eagerly forgives and rewards stepsisters

20. Literary Analysis Results cont. Grimm’s “Cinderella” Mother Deathbed Grieving Grave/tree/bird Asks for help “Throw gold & silver down to me” Patriarchal Conflict Bad women punished brutally

21. Literary Analysis Results cont. Disney’s “Cinderella” Adapted from Perrault Does not ask for help, but not helpless “WE can do it! We can help Cinderelly” “But I already cleaned the curtains” Limited connection to mother destroyed Subplots with mice Jaq and Gus heroes defeating Lucifer “leave the sewing to the women”

22. Literary Analysis Results cont. Gender messages will change with each revision either overtly or covertly Each revision’s gender messages will reflect the attitudes of the time period Gender messages will reflect those found in content analysis

23. Common Results Complex gender messages Limited coding reliability Changes across time Heroines act and are treated differently than heroes and other characters Heroines freq. coded as victims Heroines model feminine behavior of forgiving and submitting Heroines treated badly by other women Patriarchal gender messages Stereotypical present; counter-stereotypical absent Intrafeminine conflict defining theme of “Cinderella”

24. Discussion Strengths New approach to fairy tale analysis Multifaceted methodology gives broader picture Limitations New coding scheme Complex gender messages make interpretation of results difficult

25. Discussion cont. Future Directions Changes to coding scheme Empowering messages New codes More research to establish utility of this methodology

26. Discussion cont. Relevance Predicting what children interpret Individual factors: life experiences, age, knowledge Identifying with characters Distortion Awareness of messages Disney versions of fairy tales still popular Parents Audience of feminist re-visions Emphasizing women as victims in well-known tales

27. Acknowledgments • Dr. Dennison • Dr. Feingold • Psychology Department • Kat Painter

28. Questions?