Résumés
Abstract
This article examines how young children take up gender and sexuality discourses embedded in Disney Princess transmedia narratives and merchandise. A feminist ethnographic study conducted in two Canadian early childhood education and care (ECEC) classrooms found that young children often take up stereotypically gendered, heteronormative roles from princess transmedia during pretend play. The author contends that princess play includes problematic postfeminist themes, yet also offers agentic, pleasurable roles for children to embody. Disney’s hyperfeminine princess aesthetic is sometimes utilized by girls to subvert inequitable gender hierarchies and claim powerful positions within play scenarios. However, femmephobia can result in reinforcement of hegemonic gender discourses via gender policing. Implications for gender equity in ECEC environments are discussed.
Keywords:
- pretend play,
- early childhood education,
- ece,
- transmedia,
- popular culture,
- media,
- gender,
- feminism,
- postfeminism
Résumé
Cet article examine la manière dont les jeunes enfants s'approprient les discours sur le genre et la sexualité enracinés dans la narration transmédia et les produits de la marque Disney Princess. Une étude ethnographique féministe menée dans deux classes d’éducation à la petite enfance canadienne a déterminé que les jeunes enfants incarnent les rôles stéréotypés liés au genre et hétéronormatifs que l'on retrouve dans le transmédia des princesses pendant leurs jeux imaginaires. L’auteur soutient que les jeux de princesse comprennent des thèmes postféministes problématiques, mais qu'ils offrent également des rôles autonomisantes. L'esthétique hyperféminine du transmédia princesse de Disney est parfois utilisée par les filles pour renverser les hiérarchies inéquitables. Cependant, la femmephobie peut entraîner un renforcement des discours hégémoniques.
Mots-clés :
- faire semblant de jouer,
- éducation de la petite enfance,
- ece,
- transmédia,
- culture populaire,
- médias,
- genre,
- féminisme,
- postféminisme
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Parties annexes
Biographical note
Tifanie Valade
holds a Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and a Master’s degree in Media Studies from Concordia University and is currently a graduate student and part-time professor at the University of Ottawa in the Faculty of Education. Her research and teaching interests include critical gender and sexuality studies, as well as equity and social justice issues in educational policy. She also investigates the relationship between gender, play, mass media and popular cultural narratives, particularly in early childhood education and care (ECEC) contexts. tvala075@uottawa.ca
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Parties annexes
Note biographique
Tifanie Valade
est titulaire d’un baccalauréat en Études des femmes et d’une maîtrise en Études des médias de l’Université Concordia. Elle est actuellement étudiante aux cycles supérieurs et professeure à temps partiel à la Faculté d’éducation de l’Université d’Ottawa. Ses intérêts de recherche et d’enseignement portent sur les études critiques du genre et de la sexualité, ainsi que sur les questions d’équité et de justice sociale dans les politiques éducatives. Elle s’intéresse également à la relation entre le genre, le jeu, les médias de masse et les récits culturels populaires, en particulier dans les contextes de l’éducation et de la petite enfance (ÉPE). tvala075@uottawa.ca