Last December we had an exciting interview with the librarian Henrika Yasam Almström who runs the Instagram account @barnboksanalyser . Last time we spoke, Yasam was compiling an analysis of gender in children's books published in 2024. We were of course curious and asked if she wanted to tell us a little about the results. Here's how she describes it Yasam The gender situation today in children's books for 6-12 years old.

– I have conducted a quantitative study of children's books published over the course of a year. The aim has been to gain insight into general gender patterns in the way children's book characters feel and act.

There are plenty of "shes" who are brave, independent, creative, smart, fearless and leaders in children's books. And there are plenty of "hes" who feel scared, nervous, and who cry or get tears in their eyes. These results can be linked to a long-standing social debate, a criticism of the portrayals of "she" as soft and passive, and "he" as tough and harsh in children's books.

But there are also more gender stereotypical traits. This is evident, for example, in the fact that "she" is more often associated with emotions and lack of control than "he" is. "She" is more often angry, impulsive, eager, stubborn and happens to "get it wrong", sometimes to the point where she has to be rescued by a "he". And "she" cries more often.

"He" in turn is more often a hero and savior, and he more often stands for knowledge and is well-read. "He" more often explains things to others, and more often calms others. "He" is more often authoritarian, or an authority.

Both "she" and "he" use violence, but "he" does so to a slightly greater extent. "He" threatens more often, swears more often, brags more, competes more often with others, is more technologically savvy, has more technological equipment, and has more weapons.

Traditional gender roles such as showing care, feeling empathy, and cooking and offering food or coffee are still feminine areas. It is more often "she" who cleans, does the dishes and does the laundry.

It's all about differences in degree, though. There are almost no areas that are exclusively masculine or feminine. Except for joking around, which is something that only those who are "he" do. And saying something is cute or sweet is something that only those who are "she" do.

Hair is also a highly gender stereotyped area. Almost all characters who are "she" in children's books are described through their hair, which is also often beautiful.

Mothers and fathers are also described in slightly different ways. Mothers are more often admonishing and angry. Fathers are more often humorous and more often represent care in the books.

Can you elaborate a little on the analysis itself and the age range, how many books were included and how the selection was made?

– To get a picture of how gender is portrayed in children's books today, I have read books published in one year, 2024. The background to this study is a pilot study I conducted in 2020. The idea was to read as many chapter books as possible published in that year for children aged 6-12. I did not have ready-made analysis categories to look for, but these were developed during the course of the study. For example, I came to count all occasions that a person cried, felt scared, showed anger, showed care, acted independently, showed courage, had knowledge, had weapons, was authoritarian, used violence, etc. The study of the 2024 books was conducted based on a total of forty different analysis categories that were developed during the pilot study.

The results are reported in the form of the number of examples in each category, and the percentage of characters that are she or he respectively. Some analysis categories have generated a large number of examples. For example, getting scared: 479 examples, saying sorry: 495 examples, being angry: 513 examples. Other analysis categories have not generated as many examples, but if they show a clear preponderance for he or she, the results can still be said to be of interest.

Overall, the results can provide a picture of how he and she are represented in the books, and you can see patterns that both follow and break with our gender norms.

The selection has been determined by the books that have been reviewed by the Library Service in their digital list. The study is based on an analysis of 242 books out of a total of 428 published books that have been reviewed by Btj. The selection has been limited to books that take place in modern times because I wanted to look at modern gender constructions. When more books in a series have been published in 2024, I have read one book in the series. To further limit the material, I have also selected books that only have animals in the character gallery. Some books have also been omitted because I had difficulty finding them in a library near me. This may be related to the review the book has received from Btj.

What would you like to see more of in children's books based on your analysis?

– For authors and publishers, it can be good to become aware of the patterns that exist, but that we do not notice when we do not see the whole picture. Even though those who are he, for example, show emotions in books for 6-12 year olds, those who are she still account for a larger part of the examples. Traditionally masculine areas such as knowledge, technology, violence, weapons, authority, etc., are still represented to a greater extent by those who are he. Traditionally feminine areas such as focus on appearance or cooking and baking are represented to a greater extent by those who are she. By knowing that these stereotypes live on, you can more consciously choose to try to avoid them.

The results also show norm-breaking behaviors. For example, characters who are "she" are more often leaders, act independently, have ideas and show courage. At the same time, there is a tendency for those who are "she" to also be more impulsive, eager, reckless and more often "get it". This brings to mind the old division of gender into reason and emotion.

Another result is that mothers are more often admonishing and angry, compared to fathers who are more often humorous and caring. This is also interesting to reflect on.

What I would like to see more of in children's books is that they dared to use the pronoun hen to completely bypass gender norms. A hen can act and experience in all imaginable ways without being either gender stereotyped or norm-breaking. By using words like child, parent, adult, friend, person, etc. we enable characters to be more human than gender.

At the same time, the different signs of gender (hair length, dress, hair ornaments, jewelry, handbag, makeup, tie, etc.) can be mixed in the illustrations. This can be seen as utopian thoughts, but if we really do not want to limit ourselves and others by gender norms, then it is a possible path to take. The reader still has the opportunity to identify with the characters, for example based on their age.

What picture of gender emerges if you analyze a larger number of books?

– The aim is to gain insight into tendencies that may not become visible when studying individual works, or a smaller number of works. The result is thought to reflect the image of gender in children's books (chapter books for 6-12 years) in our present day. By counting the number of manifestations of the characters' different emotions, ways of acting, etc., one can find differences in how "she" and "he" are portrayed. Are there patterns that we need to be aware of that do not emerge in more qualitative studies?

Finally, OLIKA has asked if I would recommend any of their books and I would like to highlight some of my favorite characters in books for younger children: the books about Mix , Konrad,Kivi and UppfinnarJohanna. All of them are charming, norm-creative and fun to read!

Thank you Yasam for this summary!💜 For those of you who want to see the whole thing, contact: henrikaalmstrom@gmail.com