ABSTRACT
Our research into the performance of boys and girls as readers revealed that girls were more likely to consider the traits and actions of supporting or “peripheral” characters, while boys were more likely to concentrate their attention on a single, usually male, protagonist. One particularly striking finding was that boys often disregard female characters, writing them out of the story in its retelling. This is problematic not only because this “erasure” may mirror emerging gender stereotypes, but also—more immediately—because it may cause boys’ readings to appear limited or even inaccurate.
