New Books in Popular Culture Julie Fette, "Gender by the Book: 21st-Century French Children's Literature" (Routledge, 2025)
Nov 7, 2025
Julie Fette, an Associate Professor of French at Rice University and author of "Gender by the Book", dives into the complex world of gender representations in 21st-century French children's literature. She discusses how libraries and book clubs impact what children read, revealing that 80% of sampled books still contain gender stereotypes. Fette also explores the influence of French universalism on literature and why publishers often prioritize male-centric content, fearing to alienate boy readers. However, she highlights the emergence of progressive publishers offering more equitable stories for children.
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Quality vs. Market Is A False Binary
- The supposed divide between “high-quality” and mass-market children’s books obscures how stereotypes persist across categories.
- Fette intentionally studies libraries, a dominant book club, and highbrow magazines to challenge that binary.
Library Sampling Reveals Skewed Roles
- Shelf-sweep sampling of two libraries found 80% of books contained gender stereotypes and far fewer female characters.
- Adult roles skew male: no mothers had paid jobs while men appeared with occupational status repeatedly.
Library Fieldwork In Paris And Houston
- Fette performed shelf-sweep sampling in a Paris municipal library and a French school library in Houston to compare collections.
- She combined 49 picture books from both sites to analyze gender representations.
