Gender in picture books - survey for parents - the results

An update on my MA research

Apr 10, 2023

What was the survey all about?

My academic focus this past couple of years whilst studying for an MA in illustration has been on gender representation in children’s picture books. I released two surveys as part of my research. Some you might even have filled one of them in.

Through my research and my own reading with my girls, I had my own views on gender in picture books as well as my favourite books. I wanted to be able to ask others for their thoughts to see how their views compared to mine. I wanted to ask parents and professionals slightly different questions so I released two surveys.

I then wanted to use all of this research to help me decide how to represent my own characters in the picture books I am writing. Some of the comments made fascinating reading!

In this post I’ll give you a summary of the results of the survey that went out to parents. In a future post I’ll give you the results of the survey that was aimed at professionals.

The Parents Survey Results

256 people completed some part of the survey, although only approximately 140 answered the questions beyond the initial few. The vast majority of respondents were female parents (92%) and despite best efforts only 20 men completed the survey.

As the chart below demonstrates 80% of respondents who answered this question felt that colourful illustrations were important or very important in picture books. 53% reported that characters having equal roles is important or very important. 24% said it is important or very important to have a female in a central role. 24% said a book by a particular author is important or very important and 24% said that rhyming is important or very important.

30% of the 34 respondents who answered that seeing a female character in a central role was important or very important were buying for a male child. Of the 49 people who answered that seeing characters with equal roles was important or very important, 82% were buying for a male child.

What do parents want to see more of in picture books?

The below chart gives an indication of what aspects parents would like to see more of or less of in future picture books. An overwhelming 87% want to see more disability represented, 84% want to see more diversity and 81% want to see more feelings/emotions. 80% want to see adventures in picture books. 54% want to see females in central roles and 48% want to see retellings of traditional tales.

What do parents want to see less of in picture books?

42% want to see fewer princesses, 36% want to see fewer princes and 33% want to see fewer traditional tales.

Have you ever put a book back on the shelf because of how it handles gender?

42% of parents said that they had put a book back on the shelf because of how it handles gender. Here is a list of a few of the reasons parents gave for putting a book back:

“The book said the princess had to be quiet to bag a prince”
“The story was too gender stereotyped”
“The story – making the princess incapable or weak”
“The story - if boys are shown as bullies and girls as weak, or boys are told to be tough (not cry)
“Either not enough girls or too limited in what the girls are pictured doing”
“The illustrations of a pompous, macho smoking male scarecrow was something I didn't want my son to see in the Scarecrow’s Wedding”
“If the book has only male author and illustrator sometimes I put the book back!”
“Suggestion that being a tomboy equals transgender”

Have you ever bought a book specifically because of how it handles gender?

52% of respondents reported that they had purchased a book specifically because of how it handles gender. Reasons for this decision included:

“Gender-switched fairy tales, because we get fed up with the girls always being rescued”
“I loved a book where the princess of a story actually didn’t need the prince and made her own life. I had a great conversation with my kindergarten class about this!”
“Characters who deviate from gender stereotypes is a natural way are good for all children. I will often flick through a storyline before purchasing”
“I bought books about adventurous girls for both my children. Boys will read books with a female main protagonist!”
“The characters and depiction of trans, non-binary, gender fluid characters.”
“Characters where their gender is ambiguous and not assumed. Gender isn't a big part of the characters identity or the book because in the context of the story it doesn't matter. Also characters who are gender non conforming such as boys with long hair or who like ballet or girls who are knights etc. Such as Llama Glamarama, Want to Play Trucks? and Julian is a Mermaid.”

These answers clearly show that parents are discerning customers and do not blindly buy books that look pretty. Many mentioned reading reviews and listening to recommendations as well as reading the book before they buy it. The way the characters and illustrations represent gender is an important consideration.

So, what do the Dads think?

I only had 20 survey responses from men and only 9 of those hung around long enough to answer the main questions. I did try my best to post the survey in places where men would see it. They either did not see the survey or chose not to complete it. I could conclude that female family members are the ones who buy the books. Research suggests that two thirds of all books sold in the UK are bought by women, so this conclusion would follow the wider industry.

A few interesting points came from their answers – although it should be noted that the numbers are very low and therefore difficult to draw meaningful conclusions.

only 2 of the 9 felt it was important to see a female in a central role in a book even if they are buying for a female child
none of the male respondents felt it was important to have a male or female in the title or a male or female in a central role
4 of 9 felt it was important to have equal roles

Although the numbers are low, this suggests that men are less concerned about gender representation in picture books than women.

An interesting comment about unconscious bias made by a female parent of a 5-6 year old boy:

“I've noticed in myself that when I'm reading a picture book I by default refer to animals in pictures as male (unless they are obviously gendered as female by e.g. long eyelashes or wearing something pink). E.g. "That squirrel is burying his acorn." I'm working on not doing this.”

Do you do this? I must admit that I do this a lot.

In summary, this research has highlighted the following:

It has reinforced my assumption that those buying picture books take gender representation into consideration when purchasing a picture book.
Parents will buy books with either a male or female protagonist for either a male or female child – they do not need to be marketed towards one gender.
Parents want to see adventures and new twists on old stories where characters play equal roles.
Parents want to see fewer traditional stereotyped prince and princess stories where gender representation is imbalanced.
There seems to be a huge drive for better representation of diversity in general as well as feelings/emotions.

What do you think?

Comment below with your thoughts on whether gender representation is important in picture books. Why is it important to you? How do you choose books for your child?

One of my favourite books that handles gender well

I’ve bought many books that appealed to me because of the way they handle gender but I wanted to single out this book in particular. I bought The Girl and the Dinosaur by Hollie Hughes and Sarah Massini (2020) for my youngest daughter for Christmas and since then we have read it so many times the corners are a little battered and the pages well-thumbed.

It is a story about a girl who uncovers a dinosaur skeleton at the beach and, after making a wish at bedtime, it comes to life and they have adventures together. The main character is female and she enjoys the adventure with a dinosaur which is not referred to by any pronouns. The illustrations picture the girl with red hair and pyjamas for most of the book or in blue shorts and a t-shirt at the beach. The other children pictured are not pictured in a stereotypical way, presented in a variety of clothes. Two of the three onlookers at the beach are female – one wearing a dress or skirt and the other wearing trousers and a more masculine cap. The story does not draw attention to gender or stereotypes, even for contrast as many stories do, and instead concentrates on the character and the story. The main character is an adventurous and just happens to be a girl. This is a delightful story and I bought it partly because of the way it handles gender – and my daughter loves it.

A number of survey comments asked for balanced representation - of gender, race, disability, emotions and other categories – but all incidental to a good story rather than being the focus of it and this book does that exceptionally well.

I looked at a few other books through a gender lense and I’ll talk about those in a future post. In the meantime I’m keen to know what you think…

What are your favourites?

If you have any favourite books that handle gender well, please add a comment below. In a future post I’ll collect all the comments I’ve had in surveys and in comments here and publish a list of favourites.

Naomi’s Illustration Journey