Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman -- Benny Xie

 

Review by EDS 131 Student

Synopsis:

Pink Is for Boys emphasizes that everyone is entitled to like anything. Boys can like pink, and girls can like blue, and all of us can do whatever we like, without any limitation from our gender and race. In the book, boys and girls are together doing a lot of activities that are stereotypically viewed as a boy's thing or a girl's thing, for example, playing baseball and dancing. It tells the kids that they should not be afraid to pursue anything they like and express themselves in this inclusive and supportive world.

Anti-Bias Elements:

• Breaking Gender Stereotype: A good children’s book should not contain any stereotype, which is the oversimplified generalization of a certain group of people. In Pink Is for Boys, we do not see the general stereotype on colors, for example, “blue is for boys, and pink is for girls”; the boys and girls are dressed in every kinds of colors, which implies that there are a lot of boys and girls who like the colors that are deemed as "feminine”, or "masculine", and it is normal for anyone to like any color. No color should be stamped as "girlish" or "boyish" but as simply a color.

• Attacking Implicit Bias: Implicit bias is a set of automatic and uncontrolled cognitive processes that affect our attitudes toward others, which increases bias and injustice in classrooms. For example, as an African American boy are being asked to share a toy with others, the teachers with implicit bias against African American will anticipate that the boy will become mad and aggressive upon being asked. A lot of people have this kind of implicit bias about the actions of people. If a boy likes to play with a purple unicorn, or a girl cannot move her eyes away from a racetrack, they will be deemed as "girlish" or "boyish" by people with implicit bias. However, in Pink Is for Boys, boys in pink are dancing happily with music, and girls in blue are playing baseball on the court, which prevents the kids from picking up this implicit bias and encourages them to do whatever they like without worrying about the typical bias against those activities.

• Promoting Inclusivity and Gender Equality: A lot of books picture girls playing with girls and boys playing with boys, which results in the formation of gender groups on the playground. In Pink Is for Boys, both boys and girls do everything from dancing to playing baseball together, which will encourage the kids who read this book to play with anyone they want instead of only hanging out in all-boys or all-girls groups.