Ser menina e ser selvagem: novas produções de feminilidades na literatura infantil.

Abstract

This study, located in the applied field of language studies, intends to promote a reflection on the need to expand the representations of femininities in children's narratives, by opening space for the problematization and deconstruction of gender stereotypes. To this end, the object of analysis of this article is the children's book Selvagem (2015), written by Emily Hughes, which brings to the fore the importance of the visibility of female representations and the contestation against the hegemonic repetition of an identity historically based on the idea of domestication of women. By drawing a parallel between the archetype of the Wild Woman (Estés, 2014) and the girl protagonist of the book, it is possible to bring to light the power of children's literary readings in human formation. Anchored in cultural and feminist studies, an interface with studies on literary reading, the data analysis demonstrated that, in addition to being possible, it is essential for female characters to break the second place in literature dedicated to children and expand the possibilities of producing femininities.