Exploring gender issues through critical reading of fairy tales

Abstract

This study explored how children s literature, specifically fairy tales could be used as a main referent in the construction and exploration of gender. The main aim of the project was to allow students to get to know a reading practice, where text, author and reader share their ideology, history and culture. On the one hand, the students had the opportunity of exploring gender and becoming aware of their role as active readers who were able to take action and make decisions in relation to their present reality. In that sense, this project analyzed students oral and written responses in regards to gender by means of a critical reading of fairy tales. This research project was carried out with third grade students in a female private school. Data was collected by means of field notes, audio tape recording, and student s artifacts (written data). Three different units were designed based on a specific methodology called creative reading method developed by Ada (1988). The data collected revealed that students were able to develop different critical reading processes where they could identify and analyze how gender is portrayed in fairy tales and also they reflected about the construction and implications that gender has in their society and daily life.