In her short article “Pippi Longstocking – Emancipation only for white children?” Maureen Maisha Eggers examines the three volumes of “Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren for contained messages of hierarchy to children.
Pippi Longstocking, who is still iconized today as an emancipative model for girls, is a contradictory figure. Although she is universally negotiated as an orientation figure, the construction of the strong, superior and independent girl only becomes effective on the basis of contrasts and negative foils: Black children are constructed as mute, action-dependent figures, Black people and societies as a mass.
In the course of the essay, Maureen Maisha Eggers elaborates on her theses, supporting each with textual examples from three Pippi Longstocking volumes.
The text “Pippi Longstocking – Emancipation only for white children? Racism and Hierarchy Messages Addressed to (White) Children” can be downloaded here.