In a paragraph of around 100 words, summarise the results of the investigations into schoolbooks described in the text.
Schoolbooks and the female stereotype
Illustrations and stories in United States primary school textbooks tend
to convince young girls that they should be ‘passive’ and
‘dependent’ creatures who need aspire only to lives of service to
their future husbands and children, a conference of educators was told here
yesterday.
Speaking at the first national conference on schools and sex
role stereotypes, a University of California professor said a study of the 100
most widely used elementary text-books demonstrated that girls are constantly
depicted as dependent on and subservient to boys.
Louise White, of the U.S.
Office of Education, told the conference that the female stereotype presented
to elementary school children was so overwhelming that by the time most girls
reached fourth grade they believed they had only four occupations open to them
- nurse, secretary, teacher, or mother.
The director of the elementary
school textbook study, Lenore Weitzman, of the University of California, said
that texts in spelling, reading, mathematics, science, and social studies were
examined.
Most stories and illustrations tended to centre on boys rather
than girls, and those boys tended to demonstrate qualities of strength,
intelligence, love of adventure, independence, and courage.
Girls, however,
were depicted in passive roles. Usually they were inside a house, and often
they were helping with housework or playing with dolls.
When boys
and girls appeared together in a text, she said, the girls were either watching
the boys do something or they were helping the boys.
Adult men appearing in
elementary school texts were depicted in various jobs - astronaut, truck
driver, policeman, cowboy, scientist, banker - in addition to the role of
father.
But the overwhelming picture of women that emerged from the
elementary texts was that of mother and housewife. Even at that, said Professor
Weitzman, the picture was one of a woman performing simple but time-consuming
chores. It failed completely to reflect the complexities facing a modern
housewife.
A study was done by an affiliate of the Central New Jersey
National Organisation for women on 34 books published by 14 major publishing
companies and involving 2,760 stories for elementary school children.
According to the findings the composite housewife or mother was a
‘limited, colourless, mindless creature...’ Not only does she wash,
cook, clean, nurse, and find mittens: these chores constitute her only
happiness.
‘In illustration, she frequently appears in the
servant’s posture, body slightly bent forward, hands clasped, eyes riveted
on the master of the house or the children.’
In contrast, the typical
father found in the study was ‘the “good guy” in the family.
He’s where the fun is. He builds things with his children and takes them
hunting, fishing and up in planes. He solves the problems.’
The effect
of this on young girls, Professor Weitzman said, is to make them think their
role is to serve others. They think they should be attractive so that they can
please others and although they generally have better academic records than
boys by the time they reach adolescence, they value academic and scholastic
excellence less than boys do.
(Report in The Guardian)
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