The Analysis of Gender Representations in EFL Textbooks

Abstract

           Students, both males and females, typically express interest in traditionally gender-typed occupations, roles, and responsibilities, females tend to display more variability in the role of their occupational preferences than males. Maleness is associate with strength, power, and authority. Most of them perceive their thought from their surroundings in school. The objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate the patterns of gender representations in Grade 6 EFL textbooks and 2) to examine how gender bias was portrayed in the textbooks. Three EFL textbooks were chosen as research materials. A mixed methods research design was used to examine the following categories: 1) gender visibility in texts and illustrations, 2) firstness, and 3) domestic roles and occupational roles. A check sheet was used as a research instrument to collect quantitative data; a content analysis method was used to gather qualitative data. The research results found the following details. First, the textbooks seemed to feature both genders. However, the males appeared more frequently than females in the texts and illustrations. Second, the firstness issued that males were mentioned first was much more than females. Third, for the domestic roles, the two textbooks showed contrary results. For the occupational roles, females’ occupations were less diverse than males’ and were restricted to stereotypical types.