Email this article FEMINIST VISUAL-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF AKO AY MAY KIKI
(1) Gordon College, Philippines
(2) Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Philippines
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
This study employs feminist literary theory and a visual-linguistic analysis to examine the portrayal of femininity in the children’s illustrated storybook Ako ay May Kiki by Glenda C. Oris. It analyzes how linguistic choices, based on Abram’s (1999) typology of diction, and the use of color, guided by the principles of color psychology, contribute to the construction of female representation. Findings reveal that the storybook challenges stereotypes of women as passive through active verbs that depict the female protagonist as strong and assertive. The explicit use of anatomical terms such as “vagina” normalizes discussions of the female body by presenting it as natural and empowered. The minimal use of adjectives and reliance on concrete, everyday language frame femininity in practical terms. Visually, the deployment of warm, positive colors conveys body acceptance and empowerment, while neutral tones reflect inclusivity and authenticity. Furthermore, the use of green and blue—commonly associated with masculinity—subverts conventional gender coding and broadens the representation of femininity. By highlighting inclusive language and visual strategies, the study underscores how the text and illustrations facilitate body consciousness, gender sensitivity, and positive self-esteem among children.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abrams, M. H. (1999). A glossary of literary terms (7th ed.). Heinle & Heinle.
Al-Rasheed, A. S. (2015). An experimental study of gender and cultural differences in hue preference. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 30. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00030
Ashrafova, I. (2024). Language and gender: Exploring structures and bias in linguistic norms. Acta Globalis Humanitatis Et Linguarum, 1(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.69760/aghel.024048
Bhatia, A. (2023). Interpretation of gender roles projected in children’s literature. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Management, 5(4), 700–705. https://ijaem.net/issue_dcp/Interpretation%20of%20Gender%20Roles%20Projected%20In%20Children%20s%20Literature.pdf
Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
Cauchi, J., Gerhardt, P. F., Leaf, J. B., & Weiss, M. J. (2023). Body Parts. In Clinician’s guide to sexuality and autism: A Guide to sex education for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (pp. 37-42). Academic Press.
Cherry, K. C. (2024, February 20). Color psychology: Does it affect how you feel? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824
Cunningham, S. J., & Macrae, C. N. (2011). The colour of gender stereotyping. British Journal of Psychology, 102(3), 598-614. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02023.x
Damayanti, I. L., Moeharam, N. Y., & Asyifa, F. (2021). Unfolding layers of meanings: Visual-verbal relations in Just Ask—A children’s picture book. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 391–395. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v11i2.39195
Davies, C., Syrett, K., Taylor, L., Wilkes, S., & Zuniga‐Montanez, C. (2022). Supporting adjective learning across the curriculum by 5–7‐year‐olds: Insights from psychological research. Language and Linguistics Compass, 16(11), Article e12476. https://doi.org/10.1111/lnc3.12476
DeCarlo, M. (2018, August 7). 14.2 Strengths and weaknesses of unobtrusive research [Chapter]. Scientific Inquiry in Social Work. Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.pub/scientificinquiryinsocialwork/chapter/14-2-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-unobtrusive-research/
Faria, S., Salles, D., & Pereira, L. D. (2024). Pages that leave a mark: The role of storytelling in the development of language, cognition, and memory in children. Brazilian Journal of Development, 10(8), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv10n8-044
Filipović, K. (2018). Gender representation in children’s books: Case of an early childhood setting. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(3), 310-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2018.1464086
Frassanito, P., & Pettorini, B. (2008). Pink and blue: The color of gender. Child’s Nervous System, 24(8), 881–882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-007-0559-3
Guijarro, J. M., & Sanz, M. J. P. (2008). Compositional, interpersonal and representational meanings in a children’s narrative: A multimodal discourse analysis. Journal of Pragmatics, 40(9), 1601-1619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.04.019
Hartnett, A. C., Lasslo, S. K., & Hertlein, B. R. (2023). Exploring the influence of diction and language style in children’s song lyrics on preschool learning and development. Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan dan Humaniora, 12(2), 121-132. https://doi.org/10.35335/jiph.v12i2.36
Hassan, N. A. (2022). Adjectives in Shakespeare’s sonnets: A Discourse analysis. Al-Adab Journal, 142(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.31973/aj.v1i142.3607
José, V. V., Rubio-Machuca, B., Díaz, K., & Díaz, J. (2024). Systematic review of studies about the use of language with sexist connotations in fairytales and nursery rhymes of early childhood. Linguo Didáctica, 4, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.33776/linguodidactica.v4.8257
Karniol, R. (2011). The color of children’s gender stereotypes. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 65, 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9989-1
Kneeskern, E. E., & Reeder, P. A. (2020). Examining the impact of fiction literature on children’s gender stereotypes. Current Psychology, 41(3), 1472-1485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00686-4
Kodzoman, D. (2019). The psychology of clothing: Meaning of colors, body image and gender expression in fashion. Textile & Leather Review, 2(2), 90-103. https://doi.org/10.31881/tlr.2019.22
Kravchenko, A. (2024). Linguistic denotation as an epistemological issue. Linguistic Frontiers, 7(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.2478/lf-2024-0004
Larkin, S. L. (2022). Growing up together: Children’s literature and women’s studies. In K. Coats, D. Stevenson, & V. Yenika-Agbaw (Eds.), A companion to children’s literature (pp. 341–351). Wiley Blackwell.
Leonard, L. B., Deevy, P., Karpicke, J. D., Christ, S., Weber, C., Kueser, J. B., & Haebig, E. (2019). Adjective learning in young typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder: A retrieval-based approach. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(12), 4433-4449. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-19-0221
Martinez, M., Harmon, J., Hillburn-Arnold, M., & Wilburn, M. (2020). An investigation of color shifts in picture books. Journal of Children's Literature, 46(1), 9-22. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1271575
Maulani, S., Hadiati, C., & Yulianita, N. G. (2024). Denotation and connotation meaning in Little Women: Reflection of liberal feminism through verbal and non-verbal signs in a movie. Leksika Jurnal Bahasa Sastra dan Pengajarannya, 18(1), 47-55. https://doi.org/10.30595/lks.v18i1.17527
McMillen, E. H. (1967). The significance of white in the literature of the Western world (Master’s thesis, North Texas State University). UNT Digital Library. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc130863/m2/1/high_res_d/n_03558.pdf
Mendoza, J. V. M. (2024). Beyond the genitals: Book reviews of Ako ay May Titi and Ako ay May Kiki. PRISMA: Gender and Education E-Journal, 1, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.56278/11aq6n44
Moya-Guijarro, A. J., & Mateo, R. M. (2022). Challenging masculine gender stereotypes in children’s picture books: A social semiotic and multimodal analysis. Atlantis: Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies, 44(1), 164-185. https://doi.org/10.28914/Atlantis-2022-44.1.10
Painter, C. (2008). The role of colour in children’s picture books: Choices in ambience. In J. Marsh & E. Millard (Eds.), New literacies and the English curriculum: Multimodal Perspectives (pp. 89-111). Continuum.
Pakpahan, F. (2021). Denotation and connotation in Korean drama titles of 2019-2020. KnE Social Sciences, 5(4), 318-327. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v5i4.8691
Pineda, A. (2019, September). Colorful talk: Understanding Filipino color expressions and symbolism. Fluent Filipino. https://fluentfilipino.com/colorful-talk-filipino-color-expressions/
Potter, T. (2024). Representing masculinities in children’s literature series. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1826
Pownall, M., & Heflick, N. (2023). Mr. Active and little Miss Passive? The transmission and existence of gender stereotypes in children’s books. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 89(11-12), 758-773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-023-01409-2
Qiu, Z. Y., & Yoke, S. K. (2024). The impact of gender stereotypes in children’s picture books on children: A review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(8), 2106-2118. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v14-i8/22208
Ridha, N. M., Sinar, T. S. T. S., & Zein, T. T. (2024). Gender-based differences in EFL writing: Linguistic features in Indonesian high school students’ narratives. ELSYA Journal of English Language Studies, 6(3), 278-294. https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v6i3.22528
Roberts, L., Bačová, K., Sendín, T. L., & Urban, M. (2022). Cultural differences in the construction of gender: A thematic analysis of gender representations in American, Spanish, and Czech children’s literature. Human Affairs, 33(1), 34-50. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2022-2030
Rusyda, U. (2023). The use of diction and tone in children’s story book entitled Great Stories for Children by Ruskin Bond. Inference: Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(2), 1-9. https://journal.lppmunindra.ac.id/index.php/inference/article/view/20694
Salis, F., Frigg, R., & Nguyen, J. (2020). Models and denotation. In C. Martinez-Vidal & J. L. Falguera (Eds.), Synthese library (pp. 197-219). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38242-1_10
Shi, D. (2023). Intermodality and visual literacy: Exploring visual-verbal instantiation in children’s picture books on coronavirus. Journal of Visual Literacy, 42(3), 183–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2023.2258741
Song, S. (2024). Evaluating the extent to which the colors used in the illustrations in children’s picture books have a positive effect on the intellectual development of young children. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology, 4(3), 157-159. https://doi.org/10.62051/ijcsit.v4n3.16
Tso, A. W. B. (2023). A critical review of the gender representation in children’s eBooks on a digital reading platform. In A. W. B. Tso, A. C. Chan, W. W. L. Chan, P. E. Sidorko, & W. W. K. Ma (Eds.), Critical Reflections on ICT and Education (pp. 205-213). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7559-4_12
Usui, H., Sato, T., & Kitaguchi, S. (2023). Gender representation in color and text data of picture books. Transactions of Japan Society of Kansei Engineering, 22(4), 343-351. https://doi.org/10.5057/jjske.tjske-d-23-00015
Velayutham, V., & Raman K. (2024). Unlocking the colours within: A child’s educational guide to abstract art. ShodhKosh Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i1.2024.1079
Xue, Z., Li, Q., Zhao, J., & Zeng, X. (2024). An investigation into the relationship between clothing colors and gender stereotyping in children. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 75, 103559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103559
Yigit‐Gencten, V., Gultekin, M., Uyar, R. O., & Aydemir, F. (2024). Gender in children’s literature and kindergartners’ responses to gender in interactive read-alouds. European Journal of Education, 59(2), 303-315. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12609
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/ijhs.v9i1.12235
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Christian Loid Valenzuela; Danilo Dinoy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Indexed and abstracted in:
IJHS Sinta 2 Certificate (S2 = Level 2)
International Journal of Humanity Studies (IJHS) has been nationally accredited Sinta 2 by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia based on the decree No. Surat Keputusan 0173/C3/DT.05.00/2025. Validity for 5 years: Vol. 7 No. 2, 2024 till Vol. 12 No. 1, 2029.
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA.
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
p-ISSN: 2597-470X (since 31 August 2017); e-ISSN: 2597-4718 (since 31 August 2017)
Notice: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the editorial team or publishers.
International Journal of Humanity Studies (IJHS) is a scientific journal in English published twice a year, namely in September and March, by Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.