Gender Roles in Chinese Children’s Picture Books: A Descriptive Content Analysis

Early childhood is a critical period for gender-role development, and picture books are one of the important mediums through which children encounter social expectations about gender. However, limited research has compared gender roles in Chinese-authored and non-Chinese-authored picture books. This study conducted a content analysis of 148 picture books selected from lists recommended by the Ministry of Education of China, award-winning Chinese-authored picture books, and the iRead Early Childhood Reading Catalog. Gender roles were examined across cover characters, protagonists, physical appearance, activities, social identity, and behavioral characteristics. Both groups displayed gender stereotypes to varying degrees. Male characters appeared more frequently on covers and as protagonists, and the difference between the two groups were not statistically significant. Regarding behavioral characteristics, male characters were significantly overrepresented in exploratory action in both book categories. No behavioral category in either book type showed a significant overrepresentation of female characters. Despite some efforts to challenge conventional portrayals, both groups largely reflected traditional gender frameworks and binary understandings of gender. These findings highlight the need for picture book authors, parents, and educators to critically examine gender roles in children’s literature and to provide children with more diverse and equitable models of gender development.