Tecendo liberdades: desprincesamento como subversão de gênero na educação infantil

Abstract

This research analyzed how girls in early childhood education construct meanings about the image of the princess and what processes of production and re-signification of femininities emerge from this context. Anchored in a qualitative approach and the ethnographic method, the study adopted the principles of participatory research as a methodological strategy, using field diaries, systematic observations, and pedagogical workshops as data production devices. "De-princessing" is understood here as a political-pedagogical movement that challenges traditional representations associated with the princess—such as passivity, fragility, aesthetic idealization, and the expectation of a savior—opening possibilities for the construction of plural subjectivities. The theoretical framework engages with Bell Hooks (2015), Guacira Lopes Louro (2016), Jane Felipe (2000), Judith Butler (2013), Marta Alencar dos Santos, Carla Cristina dos Santos de Jesus and Amanaiara Conceição de Santana Miranda (2021), and Simone de Beauvoir (2016), allowing for an analysis of how children reproduce and simultaneously subvert gender norms in the educational context. The results show that, although gender norms are reproduced, children also produce shifts, tensions, and symbolic reconfigurations, revealing opportunities for expanding the processes of resignifying feminine identity repertoires from childhood. This research contributes to the debate on teacher training and critical pedagogical practices in early childhood education, highlighting "de-princessing" as an educational intervention strategy committed to gender equity.