RECOGNISING SEXIST LANGUAGE THROUGH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Abstract

We are constantly bombarded by gender-biased images in the media and give little thought to the way women and men are represented. However, the representation of gender through media and language contributes to the way in which we see our roles in society. In this paper, a language instructor shares his experience of using fairytales to raise the consciousness of his students on issues related to sexism in society. The fairytales were used to generate discussions on sexist attitudes that are evident in society today. It is hoped that the findings will be beneficial to educators who are interested in helping their students address the issue of sexism in society.