Les représentations multidimensionnelles du masculin et du féminin véhiculées par la presse enfantine francophone 1Mes remerciements vont aux deux experts anonymes qui ont fait des commentaires très constructifs sur des versions antérieures de ce manuscrit.

Multidimensional representations of gender in French language publications for children. Gender stereotypes in French language literature for children have not been extensively studied. This study analyses stories with household heroes, in French language publications aimed at pre-school age children. The aim is to evaluate multidimensional representations of gender in these publications. Results reveal major quantitative and qualitative asymmetries in the representations of the two sexes, often to the detriment of the female. Males outnumber females, who more often play secondary roles as compared to males who are more often depicted in the central role; girls are less frequently represented in the illustrations accompanying these stories than boys. Females are depicted in a more stereotyped manner, and are more confined to domestic and in private locations. Additionally, women play a smaller variety of professional roles than men. The asymmetries highlighted in this study are discussed in terms of the influence that may be exercised over children’s construction of their gender identity, and influence particularly on the self-esteem and future aspirations of girls.