ERIC Number: EJ1464714
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0024-9033
EISSN: EISSN-1916-0666
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Postfeminism at Play: Pretend Play with Disney Princess Transmedia in the Early Childhood Education Classroom
Tifanie Valade
McGill Journal of Education, v58 n3 p57-80 2023-2024
This article examines how young children take up gender and sexuality discourses embedded in Disney Princess transmedia narratives and merchandise. A feminist ethnographic study conducted in two Canadian early childhood education and care (ECEC) classrooms found that young children often take up stereotypically gendered, heteronormative roles from princess transmedia during pretend play. The author contends that princess play includes problematic postfeminist themes, yet also offers agentic, pleasurable roles for children to embody. Disney's hyperfeminine princess aesthetic is sometimes utilized by girls to subvert inequitable gender hierarchies and claim powerful positions within play scenarios. However, femmephobia can result in reinforcement of hegemonic gender discourses via gender policing. Implications for gender equity in ECEC environments are discussed.
Descriptors: Popular Culture, Play, Mass Media Use, Early Childhood Education, Multimedia Materials, Gender Identity, Sexuality, Foreign Countries, Young Children, Sex Stereotypes, Femininity
McGill Journal of Education. McGill University, 3700 McTavish Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1Y2, Canada. Tel: 514-398-4246; Fax: 514-398-4529; Web site: http://mje.mcgill.ca
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A