Perspectivas de gênero em biografias para crianças : leitura e mediação nas Coleções Antiprincesas e Anti-heróis, de Nadia Fink (2016).

Abstract

This research is developed from the central question: how do the collections Antiprincesas and Anti-heróis, by Nadia Fink (2016), use verbal and visual language to deconstruct conventional representations of social roles, establishing themselves as valuable resources in reading mediation for the promotion of gender equity from childhood? Its main objective is to critically analyze the representations of gender present in these collections and to develop guidelines for the mediation of reading of these works, aiming at the promotion of gender equity from the early years of life. It is based on concepts that articulate gender, reading, and language, understanding the distinction between sex and gender as a social and relational construction (Butler, 2018; Scott, 1995), and recognizing that such norms are sustained by institutions that naturalize inequalities and hierarchies between the sexes (Bento, 2011; Rippon, 2019). Reading mediation is understood as a formative and transformative practice (Bajour, 2023; Munita, 2024), capable of expanding repertoires and fostering reflections on diversity and freedom of being. The concept of biography is considered in its aesthetic and ethical dimensions, as a narrative of real lives that connects literature, history, and social sensitivity (Castro, 2022; Neto, 2022; Martinez, 2017), while the illustrated children’s book is understood as a space that integrates verbal and visual language, enhancing critical and aesthetic reading (Linden, 2011). Methodologically, the research is qualitative, descriptive-interpretative in nature, and based on the multimodal analysis of the biographies of Frida Kahlo, Violeta Parra, Clarice Lispector, Eduardo Galeano, and Che Guevara. The verbal, visual, and graphic elements of the works were considered as interdependent parts in the construction of meaning, articulating text and image in a joint process of signification. The study also includes an interview with the author Nadia Fink, which made it possible to compare editorial intentions with the narrative strategies observed. The analysis was organized on two levels – individual and comparative – highlighting singularities and recurrences in the representations and modes of narration. The results indicate that the analyzed biographies construct meanings of resistance, freedom, and authenticity, subverting gender stereotypes and offering broader repertoires of identification. It is concluded that biography presents itself as a genre capable of narrating real lives with verisimilitude, without losing sight of the playfulness, creativity, and vitality of childhood, proving to be a relevant format for promoting gender equity from an early age. Thus, the Antiprincesas and Anti-heróis collections are especially significant for sharing in reading mediation practices, as they inform, emancipate, and help children build more plural and egalitarian imaginaries while presenting them with inspirations of free, authentic, sensitive, and real people.