Browsing by Author "Waris, Juuso"

The Finnish Law on Equality dictates that school textbooks and other learning materials used in schools should foster and advance equality between genders. According to earlier studies on textbooks, these goals have not been met. Instead, representations of gender in textbooks have been essentialist and stereotypical and masculine characters have been overrepresented. In latest textbook studies a slight tendency towards a less stereotypical direction was noted, though masculine characters were still grossly overrepresented. The purpose of this study is to analyze visual representations of three different 3rd grade Finnish textbooks. This study utilizes social constructivism as its theoretical framework. As such, this study takes for granted that reality is constructed socially. Content analysis and discourse analysis are used as methods of analysis. The results show that masculine characters are overrepresented in the textbooks. Masculine characters are also at the forefront in pictures more often than others. These characters also have more diverse subject positions and jobs than others. The way the textbooks represent gender is all in all rather stereotypical, even if stereotypes are also contested in some pictures. Some animal and fairy tale characters are allowed to play with gender imagery – but only when the context is strictly imaginary or when the characters are a part of a theatre play. The textbooks have a handful of characters whose expression of gender is androgenic. Especially the textbook “Huima 3” has many characters like these. Huima 3 is also the textbook that has the most open and non-stereotypical representations of gender in children. All the chosen textbooks portray Finnish people as middle class and predominantly non-disabled and white. The books portray a strictly binary view of gender with no expressions of gender diversity. As such they promote a binary and heteronormative view on gender.