Exploring Gender Disparity in Chinese Children’s Literature: The Impact of Authorship and Narrative Elements

Abstract

ABSTRACT Gender representation in children’s books may influence young children’s formation of the gender-equity concept. Previous studies show a male protagonist overrepresentation in US children’s books. This study analyzed 956 Chinese children’s books to investigate if similar patterns of gender representation exist. Research Findings: Binomial logistic regression showed significant male overrepresentation as a function of three variables of interest (author gender, character type, and genre) and interactions of all variables in Chinese children’s books, suggesting the presence of cross-cultural male-character overrepresentation. Male protagonists are more prevalent in books written by male authors. Significant interaction terms also show that preschool-aged Chinese children are more exposed to male characters in fiction, while infants/toddlers encounter male overrepresentation in nonfiction and stories with non-human central characters. In original Chinese stories, male overrepresentation is found in fiction featuring non-human protagonists and in nonfiction featuring human protagonists. Practice or Policy: To reduce gender bias in children’s literature, authors can consciously increase the number of female characters when creating children’s literature. Young girls can be encouraged to work as media creators, for example, book writers, to contribute to the parity in gender representation in books.