Gender Representation in Persian Folktales for Children

the present study was an attempt to add to the understanding of gendered content in Persian folklore stories for children. A deductive content analysis was performed to identify and record gender representation in titles, central roles, and the total number of characters. Traditionally feminine and masculine stereotypes were also investigated based on a coding scheme. The sample included 50 popular Persian folktales for children. The results indicated significant under-representation of females regarding the overall number of characters in the sample. Additionally, there were disparities in the portrayal of the two groups: females were significantly portrayed as being sex object and attractive due to their physical appearance. On the other hand, males were illustrated as being more independent, rational, strong, sexually aggressive, and attractive due to their achievements