‘How should a princess dress if she has no clothing?’: five-year-old children debate feminist stories (‘¿Cómo quiere que se vista como una princesa si no tiene vestidos?’: los niños y niñas de cinco años de edad discuten sobre los cuentos feministas)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article we are presenting studies five-year-old children’s interpretation of the gender messages included in feminist literature. The results collected here are part of a broader ethnographic study which consists of 200 hours of participant observation at different schools located in the Principality of Asturias. The data we present were collected at one of the schools via the three group interviews in which 18 students (nine girls and nine boys) debated the gender messages found in a feminist story. The data were analysed through a poststructuralist lens by analysing the students’ discourse. The results show that the dual gender order is present in the interpretation of non-traditional gender messages, although the children are also capable of interrupting the dominant gender discourses.