radical storytime: Self-Challenge: Stop (Mis)Gendering Animals & Other Non-Human Characters During Storytime

I’ve noticed something about myself recently that completely contradicts my values: I have been consistently assigning male gender pronouns to animal and non-human characters who in most cases have not been otherwise assigned a gender by the author. When telling flannel stories, I almost always use “he” and “him” to describe the characters in the story. Even when I’m talking about a pig or other adorable animal I saw on the internet with my partner, I needlessly assign said pig male pronouns as well.

Why do I do this? I am a self-proclaimed feminist (an intersectional one at that) and am often told that my political and social beliefs and values are somewhat radical (to which I usually disagree, but that’s a story for another day). I have mentioned before that I wholeheartedly subscribe to the bell hooks pedagogy that puts the souls and well-being of students (and in my case, patrons) before anything else. I am fully aware that misgendering and failing to represent all genders is particularly harmful to young girls, gender-nonconforming, gender fluid, queer, and transgender children. But that does not mean I am immune to participating in and perpetuating oppressive systems.

In “Why Are There So Few Girls in Children’s Books?” Jennie Yabroff cites a study that discusses this very topic:

“A 2011 Florida State University study found that just 7.5 percent of nearly 6,000 picture books published between 1900 and 2000 depict female animal protagonists; male animals were the central characters in more than 23 percent each year. (For books in which characters were not assigned a gender, researchers noted, parents reading to their children tended to assign one: male.) No more than 33 percent of children’s books in any given year featured an adult woman or female animal, but adult men and male animals appeared in 100 percent of the books.”

These findings, while disheartening, are not necessarily shocking. I could place all of the blame on the publishing industry, (and yes, there are some major issues that Lee & Low does a wonderful job explaining here) and you know, patriarchy for that matter. But instead of focusing on the daunting task of dismantling multiple oppressive institutions, I’d like to emphasize a task that could possibly be just as daunting, but much more attainable and on a much smaller scale.

Part of being a radical educator, librarian, or storytime provider is the desire to continually look inward and really reflect on the ways in which your thoughts, beliefs, biases, actions, and practices intersect and manifest in your lessons, or in your storytime delivery. I could choose the most progressive books in the library, that represent many of the populations of people present in my community—but if I am not consciously reflecting, challenging myself, self-educating and growing habitually—there is a very high risk that I will end up harming one of my kids or parents, regardless of my intent.

Which is why I’d like to take responsibility for my errors and own up to what I consider to be very clear-cut microaggressions. Misgendering and lack of representation are both incredibly dehumanizing practices, and internalization of those microaggressions can start quite young. With that said, I have challenged myself to stop gendering and misgendering animal and other non-human characters in children’s books (etc.) in both my professional and personal lives.

So, how exactly can I implement this practice?

When I began to notice my constant use of “he” and “him” I tried to correct myself by saying “he or she” and “him or her,” but that was incredibly problematic because it reinforces a gender binary (which I reject entirely). I’ve seen other publications (like the Anti-Defamation League) suggest switching back and forth between “he” and “she” to equal things out, or to alternate between “male” and “female” names, but again, this implies that only two genders exist and that names are inherently gendered. I do believe it is important for female-identified children to see themselves reflected in the stories we read, because of the overwhelming amount of male-identified characters in children’s books—but such a simplistic solution is not nearly enough, especially because we ignore a prevalent population of children when we assume everyone falls into the category of “he” and “she.”

So now I’m wondering…are gender-neutral pronouns a solution?

Should I use “they” and “them” or other gender-neutral pronouns? How might caregivers react to this? How should I respond to pushback from caregivers?

I’m not sure if I have the authority to answer any or all of these questions, but based on my research (which I will cite below), it seems as if striving to use gender-neutral pronouns in the case of children, animals, and other non-human characters who have not already been assigned a gender might be an appropriate goal for myself.

In an interview with Huffington Post, Maya Christina Gonzalez discusses why she chose not to use gender specific pronouns in her book Call Me Tree:

“As a parent, I see the first few years of a child’s life as a time to grow into the fundamentals of who they are. This can include gender identity. Our culture has a powerful trend toward the boy-girl gender binary and conformity comes into play from a child’s earliest possible moment. By being gender free, Call Me Tree provides for some a much needed break from the constant boy-girl assumptions and requirements. It can also provide a moment to pause and consider those assumptions, requirements and their impact.

Despite the fact that there are no gender specific pronouns, reviewers have assumed the main character is a cisgender boy. The main character is actually based on someone assigned girl. The specificity doesn’t matter as much as the opportunity to notice the assumption. Many of us assume a child with short hair, dressed in a t-shirt and pants is a cisgender boy. What does an assumption like that fully communicate? About gender requirements? fitting in? living up to expectations? being accepted? Who does it leave out and what is the impact of being excluded?”

I love Gonzalez’s response, and the questions she is posing truly get at the heart of why I have decided to take on this challenge.

If any of you have any thoughts or suggestions, please feel free to send them my way, as I am still working out the proper ways in which I should navigate this particular task. Let me know if you’re interested in taking on this challenge with me—it would be lovely to be part of community of radical storytime providers helping each other reflect and grow.

Below are some resources that discuss microaggressions and gender neutral pronouns that I found to be especially enlightening: