Once Upon a Time: Gender Norms

The boy who likes to sew

In our book, we want to address bullying that comes forth from old gender norms.

Daniel is a shy boy who likes to sew, which is a hobby that in many places doesn’t match society’s lingering expectations for boys. When he brings his sewing to school his classmates aren’t very supportive of it. Erik bullies him for sewing and only Daniel’s friend, Alex, stands up for Daniel. The teacher punishes Erik for his misbehavior, but Erik lashes out and does something that endangers the upcoming festival that the class is going to celebrate. Can the class come together to save the festival?

Planet Honesty

Planet Honesty tackles gender-related norms that tell the story of a girl named Akira who lives in an enchanted world where no one can hide their emotions. Thirty years ago, an enchantress wanted to change the inequalities between women and men, so she cast a spell, and the book tells how this has altered the planet’s society. Follow Akira and her story to find out how she navigates this very honest world.

The Tale of Lucy and her Race Car Helmet

For our Year 1 Project, “Once Upon a Time II'', we as a group have been tasked with creating a children’s book that defines new social norms that are free of gender stereotypes. Together over the course of roughly 19 weeks, we learnt very quickly and realized how big of an issue gender stereotyping was in children’s literature and how it affects the minds of people today. We all realized the importance of children’s literature and dedicated ourselves to learning how to analyze, improve, plan and write a children’s book of our own in hopes that we could eliminate those gender stereotypes. From this, our group came up and wrote a story named, “Lucy and her race helmet”.

Eidi Empath

When Eidi is accidentally given the super power of empathy, he struggles with new concepts of relating to others, and letting go of anger. Eidi is accompanied by an unusual branchy side kick who tries to put him on the right track and convince him to be empathetic. Through struggles of frustration and reluctance Eidi starts to see the positive side of his powers, and is just about coming round to the idea of empathy when unexpectedly a witch shows up to retrieve his great powers. He negotiates a deal in order to keep his powers but this may require him to let go of his old life, and even some of his friends. Will Eidi become Eidi Empathy?

This adventurous superhero story explores many implicit biases children may face today, and shatters gender norms and expectations for boys. Eidi Empathy is a role model to younger boys, and shows that caring about others can make the world a better place. This relatable character struggles with anger and toxic masculinity, and through a journey of magical realism discovers his true self. This is a tale about the very essence of humanity, and can be an important lesson to those of all ages.