Heteronormativity is defined as having heterosexuality, which is the attraction between two opposite sexes or genders, as the standard over other "deviant" forms of gender identity, expression, and sexuality (Pollitt et al., 2019). This is usually seen in attempts to define gender or sex into strict binaries (masculine or feminine, male or female, etc.), which manifest through gender stereotypes. Some examples of this are statements such as "men should be the head of the house", "women should only marry other men", or "which one of you is the man of the relationship?" 

Marie is used as the character who initially has heteronormative views through her aversion to her cousin Ella liking a "masculine color", and her journey through Candyland consists of her meeting other characters who break these conventional gender norms, like the woman made of straw doing manual labor, the gingerbread man doing housework, and the traveling swordswoman and mysterious magician.

Transgender people are people whose gender identity and expression do not match their sex or gender assigned at birth. (Doyle, 2022) For example, if you are a woman who was assigned male at birth (AMAB), you are a transgender woman or a trans woman. (Doble, 2022)

In the story, the traveling swordswoman that Marie meets is a transgender woman who was in the process of transitioning from male (their birth sex/gender) to female (their true gender/identity), which is shown through their feminine clothing and appearance.

Nonbinary is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity does not fully fall under being "male" or "female". (Monro, 2019)  Because of this, the spectrum for nonbinary people is vast, as they can either present themselves with both masculine and feminine traits (sometimes described as androgynous) or they present themselves as not having a gender. Nonbinary genders have been a well-established concept through precolonial history (babaylan/katalonan) and other cultures across the world (hijra, two-spirit) (Montilla Doble, 2022)

The mysterious magician is an androgynous individual that Marie meets and strikes a deal with near the end of her adventure in Candyland. Marie's confusion about how to address the magician was answered by the magician as “I am who I am.” due to the magician being neither a "sir" nor a "ma'am".

Studies suggest that childhood is when a child is able to grasp and retain a large amount of information because it is the period of development where they are most receptive to learning (Khanal, 2025). Because of this, the learning environment and materials that a child is exposed to must be age-appropriate for positive learning outcomes. (Kirkorian et al., 2008; Pulimeno et al., 2020) The use of children's media has been noted to have a variety of benefits, which include being able to learn new words, concepts, and socially acceptable behavior (Weisberg et al., 2015; Gripshover & Markman, 2013; Larsen et al., 2017). In addition to this, the material exists to address a lack of modern children's media and stories that approach LGBTQIA+ concepts in an approachable manner. Tagaza & Manalansan (2025) note that many older educational materials (such as old folk tales or children's books) reflect more patriarchal and colonial values, which contribute to the institutionalization of heteronormative standards in the educational system of the Philippines. (Abesamis & Siddayao, 2021)

Because of this, a children's book that attempts to introduce children to a broader spectrum of gender, through introducing some aspects of queer identity (such as being transgender or nonbinary) and addressing heteronormative standards (such as "masculine"/"feminine" colors, stereotypical gender roles, etc.) was conceptualized.