“When something is wrong we write it”: The portrayal of female genital mutilation in children’s literature

Alston, Ann

Abstract

© 2019 BY BOOKBIRD, INC. Focusing on Williams-Garcia’s No Laughter Here (2004) and Craigie’s What Was Never Said (2015), this article questions their representation of female genital mutilation (FGM). It considers the use of voice, writing, and sisterhood in promoting awareness of FGM, and the tactics used to speak of it, while simultaneously sheltering the reader from graphic descriptions. Further, it explores the ways in which they reveal, well intentioned as they undoubtedly are, very Western constructions of African traditions.

Citation

Alston, A. (2019). “When something is wrong we write it”: The portrayal of female genital mutilation in children’s literature. Bookbird, 57(2), 22-34. https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2019.0015

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 3, 2019
• Publication Date: May 16, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 8, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 8, 2019
• Journal: Bookbird: Journal of International Children's Literature
• Print ISSN: 0006-7377
• Electronic ISSN: 1918-6983
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 22-34
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2019.0015
• Keywords: children's Literature, FGM, Craigie, Williams-Garcia, YA fiction, post colonialism, circumcision
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/846869
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2019.0015
• Related Public URLs: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2221203240?pq-origsite=summon
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published version is available here: https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2019.0015