Gender

Gender within children’s literature studies is an analytic concept that names and sorts a constellation of bodies. According to the OED, the term gender historically classifies words and bodies into a particular “sort or kind.” Indo-European languages include pronouns and nouns classified as feminine, masculine, or neuter and bodies categorized into male or female, as in “the collective attributes or traits associated with a particular sex, or determined as a result of one’s sex. Also: a (male or female) group characterized in this way” (OED). Since the twentieth century, gender operates as a verb “to assign or attribute a gender to; to divide, classify, or differentiate on the basis of gender” (OED). These definitions define social classifications within and beyond literature for the child.