Ambiguous Representations of Gender in Late Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Illustrations in German Children’s Literature
My analysis of ambivalent representations of gender and sexuality in children’s book illustrations centers on publications for middle-class German readers between 1776 and 1845 – a somewhat overlooked yet foundational milieu of modern children’s literature. I have found that these images at times invoke hegemonic ideas about gender while at others deviate from those norms – occasionally even within the same text.
