FEMINIST KIDS

A diverse group of kids buck gender stereotypes in their work, play, and style.

Anna and Javier aspire to careers in carpentry and nursing, respectively. John, meanwhile, sits in a dark movie theater; when someone asks, “John, are you crying?” the child proudly declares, “Yes, this movie is so sad!” Through slice-of-life scenes of children’s birthday parties, neighborhood hangouts, and classrooms, this book tries to demonstrate the casual ways in which kids can be feminist. The vignettes highlight challenges to rather obvious gender stereotypes, such as Pete sporting long hair and pigtailed Rahne schooling Jake in chess. These examples are offered without explicitly naming the stereotypes, which may be useful in starting conversations with young readers. Though the text, translated from Spanish, is solid (but not groundbreaking), Gusti’s scribbly images are whimsical at best and offensive at worst—namely in scenes where Asian-coded characters are portrayed with slanted eyes. Moreover, while the authors urge readers not to feel constrained by gender roles (telling them that there’s no such thing as girl or boy interests), they don’t acknowledge possibilities outside the gender binary. The book concludes with a few platitudes about who feminist kids are: those who “believe in equality” and know “there’s no such thing as girls stuff or boys stuff. We can all do everything!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

In a swelling field of books about gender, this one doesn’t stack up.