Abstract :
In this paper, we focus on gendered themes promulgated in three books
written in diary cartoon form. Although written for different audiences, each of
these books constructs gender norms in similar ways. They promote heteronormative
gender roles for boys and girls by endorsing traditional femininities and
hegemonic masculinities through the following themes: popularity, mean girls/
bullying, self-concept and self-esteem, friendship, and adult naı¨vete´. First, we discuss
the ways in which gender is implicated in children’s literature. Then, we
describe and analyze the diary cartoon books, contrasting and comparing those with
girl protagonists and that with a boy protagonist. Finally, we explore the gendered
implications in the books’ themes, concluding that girls and boys are represented in
different manners that reinforce gender essentialism and heteronormativity.
