Country singer Dolly Parton has been branded as ‘racist, sexist and homophobic’ after she recommended a children’s book that a woke academic declared to be pushing ‘white western values’.
The book, Llama Llama Red Pajama, is part of the library of titles in Parton’s book club, which periodically mails out free books to children up to the age of five in an effort to promote literacy.
But now an academic at the University of North Carolina has performed a critical analysis of the choices promoted by the 78-year-old Parton and deemed the Llama book in particular to be ‘racist, sexist, homophobic, classist, and ableist biases.’
Jennifer K. Stone’s Ph.D. dissertation, titled ‘Reading Power With and Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL): A Critical Content Analysis,’ asserts that the book selections in the program conform to dominant white western values.
Stone’s analysis of the children’s book claims that characters with disabilities, LGBTQ+ couples, and non-normative gender identities are erased.
She also critiques the portrayal of values such as individualism, work, single-family homes, physical fitness, and goal-oriented literacy, arguing they privilege a narrow worldview.
For example, Stone suggests on the theme of physical fitness, that such a theme might not resonate with all audiences.
She is critical of the library of 60 books for what she perceives as a lack of diversity and inclusivity.
When Matt Fleming of the Orange County Register read the story to his one-year-old daughter he claimed he had ‘no idea I was supporting ‘white saviorism.”
‘I thought we were just enjoying a story about an androgynous baby llama who cried without its llama mama. Instead, we were ‘eras(ing)’ characters with ‘dis/abilities, LGBTQ+ couples, and non-normative gender identities.’ I’ll never look at that poor baby llama the same ever again,’ Fleming noted dryly.
Stone’s dissertation has sparked controversy, with many parents continuing to support Parton’s initiative, which is simply aiming to promote literacy among youngsters.
‘I’m curious about what messages are conveyed in those books,’ says Stone who has been awarded a $4,500 stipend to continue to investigate the work.
‘Rather than thinking that I need to prove that book gifting works, which was my original impetus in my doctoral studies, I’m curious about the actual impacts of giving books out in large quantities to families.’
Fleming believes Stone is reading far too much into what are simply children’s stories.
‘It doesn’t matter that the books are free. It doesn’t matter that participation in the club is voluntary. It doesn’t matter that the purpose of the book club is to promote literacy. All Stone could see was ‘only characters who conformed to dominant White western values conveyed in the corpus.” he wrote.
Fleming noted that he could understand the argument that a wider range of characters should have been included in the stories but that it wasn’t necessarily a problem.
‘Work is bad? Physical fitness? Does Stone instead want to see more books about sloth and torpor? As if only whites and the West believe in work or physical fitness,’ he asks.
‘It makes no sense that “goal-oriented literacy” is something to condemn, as Stone does. She’s arguing literacy for literacy’s sake is not enough.’
Stone said she became especially interested in the Imagination Library because of its rapid growth and adoption into policy by 13 states, that are funding through legislation the book gifting efforts.
Stone’s dissertation draws on various critical theories, including Critical Race Theory, Critical Literacy Theory, and Critical Disability Theory.
The frameworks propose that systemic oppression is embedded in every aspect of society, including children’s literature.
‘Talk about taking the fun out of children’s books!’ Fleming stated in his article for the OC Register.
Stone’s work implies that even well-intentioned programs like Parton’s can inadvertently perpetuate societal inequalities.
‘When all members of a community share the same set of 60 books, which is what happens with the Imagination Library, it’s important to make sure that we’re challenging any biases in those books and including any people who might be missing,’ insists Stone.
Despite the criticism, fans of the program believe in its positive impact and intend to keep sharing these stories with their children.
Fleming concedes that Stone may be ‘well-intentioned’ and that there is ‘a kernel of truth that the curators of DPIL could include more diversity in their selections’ that that the argument falls short when that a book with a child without a stutter or non-binary adult will affect readers’ overall outlook on the world.