the decision to withdraw six dr. Seuss’s books in Tuesday’s release followed years of concern over racist imagery, including an academic study that examined the characters in all of his work over 70 years.
The family of author Theodor Seuss Geisel told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the decision to withdraw the books from publication followed a lengthy review of comments from “teachers, scholars and specialists.”
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But while concerns about possible racism have been around for years, the most damning accusations came in a February 2019 study called “The Cat’s Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. seuss children’s books.”
Researchers Katie Ishizuka and Ramon Stephens wrote in the peer-reviewed “Inquiry into Diversity in Children’s Literature” (RDYL) about a comprehensive study of more than 50 Geisel books over 70 years.
The authors noted that of the 2,240 human characters in the book, “there are forty-five colored characters,” which is only 2 percent of the total.
“Of the 45 color characters, 43 are identified with characteristics that align with the definition of Orientalism,” the study stated, including 29 wearing turbans.
“only two of the forty-five characters are identified in the text as ‘African,’ and both align with the anti-Blackness theme,” they wrote, adding that all characters of color are also male.
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“Most striking is the complete invisibility and absence of women and girls of color from the entire Seuss children’s book collection,” the researchers said.
Also, the way characters of color are presented is problematic, the study suggests.
“men of color are only portrayed in subservient, exoticized, or dehumanized roles,” the authors wrote.
the study insisted that “white supremacy is seen in everything” dr. seuss, with white characters dominating the pages.
even his animals conveyed “orientalist, anti-black, and white supremacist messages through allegory and symbolism,” the study surmised.
But Geisel’s work outside of his famous books was even worse, the researchers noted.
“before and during his career publishing children’s books, dr. seuss also published hundreds of racist cartoons, comics, and political ads for newspapers, magazines, businesses, and the united states government,” they wrote.
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At the time, the researchers, who work to combat racism under the moniker “the conscientious child,” also noted that all previous academic examinations of the now-controversial author had been conducted by white researchers, many of whom they blamed to the representations. for being a “product of his time”.
“As scholars of color, this article is unique in that it is written by members of groups Seuss explicitly demeaned and dehumanized in his hundreds of racist works,” the authors wrote in a since-deleted tweet, according to the school library. daily.
It appears that the pair did not comment on Tuesday’s decision to end publication of the most damning titles, but as recently as February 2nd. 21 tweeted a reminder about how dr. seuss “represented blacks as nonhuman.”
“Seuss constantly drew Africans and African Americans as monkeys and apes, in subservient positions to white men and using the n-word,” they wrote on instagram along with a collection of troubling images.
“Black people in their children’s books are depicted as shirtless and shoeless monkeys, in subordinate positions to white men,” they wrote.
The researchers also credited others who had studied the implications of Seuss’ work in 2008, including the specific analysis of “The Cat in the Hat,” possibly Dr. seuss, but not one of those discarded from the post.
Tuesday’s announcement came on what would have been Geisel’s 117th birthday, a date that also aligned with Reading Day across America, an event that has grown increasingly distant from his works. .
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