Examples of sexist childrens books?
I have to do a project for my psych class thats shows how some childrens books shows sexist points. For example, 'Bobby is going to be a firefighter because he is a boy, Susie wont becaues she is a girl and wants to be a teacher.'
I have a ton of information on what makes them sexist but I need actual stories now. I have only found one and it was published in 1912....what does that tell ya?
I need all the help that I can get! 
Thanks everyone!
I'm very impressed with all of the suggestions. Thank you so much all of you!!
Any Enid Blyton. Try the Famous Five series and look at George and Anne
There is a part of me that really loves "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, but I know it has been pointed out to me many times that the tree that gives is feminine in the story, and the little boy is the taker.
I remember finding tons when I was trying to decide what to let my daughter read, but I can’t think of many titles now … I’ll see if I can think of any more for you…
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
Dick and Jane books
I know alot of disney stuff has been criticized for being sexist, racist, etc. But to be honest, I cant think of one concrete example.
Is your psych teacher open to creative thought? Because if you have looked at stories and found that none are sexist, maybe you could write a paper about those books. Especially if they are more current (than 1912, haha) and popular with kids. Easily, then, you could write a paper about how stories are recently taking a more ‘progressive’, ‘feminist’ or ‘open’ point of view.
I’d just do it, but if you think you’re teachers gonna be a jerk then I’d talk to him/her first. An assignment about sexism in stories should be open to showing lack of sexism (instead of more sexism) in this literature. Plus, if your teacher wants to make you look at everything in life as if it has a sexist undertone then it sounds like the class, and your teacher, are more propaganda than anything else, and you’re not getting a fair education.
Good luck.
I don’t agree with Jendan! We all know that, until now at least, books for children were stereotyped. And the adults who are living NOW have read those books. The point of the assignment is probably to show how today’s society has been influenced (to a certain extent, that is) by books like that. However, it could be a good idea to show, in the last part or in the conclusion, how books for kids have evolved. But you would have to make quite a few research as well.
Why don’t you go to a public library? They usually have a children section. You could flip through the pages. They are usually pretty small. I don’t think it would take you too much time. If you can’t find anything, just ask the person in charge at the library if she can help you. Maybe you can go to a school as well (do they have books for kids, there? We had a small library i my elementary school). They may let you have a look, and might be able to give you a hand.
If you already have all the information needed, I don’t think it would take you much time to find material if you go to those places.
Some oldies like the Bobbsey Twins will surely fit your list.
The public library should have lots of books you can examine and the children’s librarian will help you track some down.
Here are some websites that might be useful with your project:
http://www.birchlane.davis.ca.us/library/10quick.htm
Are you looking for modern books or books from any time period? For modern books, try looking at some of the Bratz books. I haven’t read any of them but I’ve seen them in stores. They look pretty creepy – most of my friends call the Bratz "Lil’ hos". Also, maybe check out some Barbie books.
You might also try talking with a children’s librarian. There are plenty of examples of sexism in older books for kids, but a librarian might be able to point out the more egregious examples as well as suggest modern examples.
Amelia Bedilia is incredibly sexist. A woman who can do nothing except domestic work and yet still bungles everything up, but its all okay ‘cuz she can cook yummy pies.
Snow White I have always hated because she did absolutely nothing except be weak and look pretty. The only proactive woman (the evil stepmother) was labeled as a horrid evil hag that got punished at the end.
This sounds like an excellent project, though! I’ll be sure to add more as I think of them.
There’s always the multitude of fairy tales where the female is always the damsel in distress and the male is always the dashing hero, racing to her rescue.
Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague.
In this book, I don’t believe it’s the author doing it but rather it’s the era and one of the characters (who was a real person).
This may not be the type of sexism you’re looking for – I suspect you want ones where the author is sexist. But this is the only one I can think of.
Ok, one more. There’s an old book – probably from the 50′s – called Nancy Cleans House or something like that. I own a copy. I may have the title wrong, but I suspect you’d be hard pressed to find mention of it online, although you might have luck at the library.
Here again, I don’t recall any particular sexist statements; it comes into play due to the era I think.
It’s about a pre-teen whose mother is going to have a baby, and so she begins learning about how to take care of the house and cook so that she can take care of poor old helpless dad while mumsy is in the hospital. Because poor ol’ dad would doubtless starve without a woman in the house.