Gender Representation in EFL Textbooks in Basic Education in Mexico

Abstract

Research on language and gender began in the 1970s with a broad interest, particularly from feminist researchers (Sunderland & Swann, 2016). The relationship between gender and language is of increasing interest to many scholars and researchers due to their bi-directional relationship. That is, according to AydinoÄŸlu (2014) 'gender is reflected by language and language helps to shape gender' (p. 233). This study examines male and female representation in three EFL textbooks used in early elementary grades in public schools in Mexico. To this end, two types of analyses were performed to explore the distribution of males and females in terms of visibility in illustration and photos, and display of male and female occupational roles in the visuals. Findings revealed that there is not a balanced representation of characters in the three textbooks; males were significantly more frequent than female characters in the illustrations. In terms of photos, it was found that both genders were allotted a similar number of appearances Similarly, the results indicated that occupational gender stereotypes occurred in the three textbooks.