Barbie princesses and dinosaur dragons

Ann Robinson of the Early Childhood Unit, National Children's Bureau
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Barbie princesses and dinosaur dragons: narration as a way of doing gender In a Swedish project eight pre-school children made their own books, using narratives acquired from traditional and popular culture. Girls and boys chose gender-specific themes for their stories, but also made reinterpretations of traditional stories and gender patterns. The girls let the female characters play the active roles and the boys let their heroes become friends with the enemies; the children used the stories creatively, reshaping them to fit their own purposes. nggard, E. Gender and Education 17(5): 539-553, December 2005. Abstract: www.tandf.co.uk/journals