Systematic review of studies about the use of language with sexist connotations in fairytales and nursery rhymes of Early Childhood

The use of language through popular children's fairytales and nursery rhymes expresses ideas about what is expected of girls and boys based on the gender. These literary studies are consequences of the oral poetic tradition and cultural aspects of different contexts and times. Likewise, it is possible to demonstrate how such productions come to show traditional beliefs and customs related to the feminine and masculine ideal that, at the same time, stand as a social value. This is why the aim of this study is to identify the use of language with sexist connotations, such as gender roles and gender stereotypes, in nursery rhymes and fairytales. For this purpose, a systematic review has been carried out following the methodology PRISMA 2020 Statement, using high impact databases such as Eric, Scopus and Google Scholar. Also, Artificial Intelligences were included in the systematic review: Consensus IA, Elicit.org and Copilot. The analysis of the scientific production based on the use of language with sexist connotations in nursery rhymes and fairytales in Early Childhood education has been identified a total of 22 documents. The results show that the gender relations represented in children's fairytales and nursery rhymes from a perspective of inequality that favours the figure of traditional male dominance, as opposed to the submission of women, reiterated in the oral and written tradition. This is clear evidence of the social separation of male and female roles, which constitutes a challenge for current education, that of influencing children's nursery rhymes and fairytales to overcome these traditional gender stereotypes

Linguistics · Gender Studies in Language · Philosophy · Psychology