The Picture of Privilege
Examining the Lack of Diverse Characters in 2018 Australian Children’s Picture Books
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12969315 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Emily Booth (0000-0002-8154-6747, corresponding author), Rebecca Lim (0000-0001-5130-8812) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 65-83 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Jeunesse Young People Texts Cultures (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1920-2601 • E-ISSN: 1920-261X |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/jeunesse-14.1.02 |
| OpenAlex | W4286291918 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
This article explores the findings from the first “diversity count” of Australian children’s picture books, conducted in 2019 in partnership with advocacy group Voices from the Intersection (VFTI). Specifically, this article explores the eighty-three percent of 2018 Australian children’s picture books that did not feature a marginalized protagonist: namely, those that featured human characters who could not be identified as marginalized in any way, animals, and inhuman protagonists. We propose that the Australian publishing industry, rather than suffering from a “diversity deficit,” instead overrepresents a narrow demographic of human experiences and non-human protagonists. We suggest that the oversaturation of the local children’s picture book market with such similar stories disadvantages all children, who are denied a rich and diverse reading experience, as well as the opportunity to see themselves and their peers depicted. This article provides greater insight into the current debates about diversity and inclusion in children’s media
Art · Diversity (politics · Inclusion (mineral · Media studies · Picture books · Political science · Privilege (computing · Project commissioning · Publishing · Reading (process · Sociology · Visual arts · Anthropology · Child Development and Digital Technology · Gender Studies · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Themes in Literature Analysis
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |