The Portrayal of Non-binary Gender Identity in Children's Picture Book Entitled My Shadow is Purple

Abstract

This study examines the multimodal representation of non-binary gender identity in Scott Stuart's children's picture book My Shadow is Purple (2022). Employing a qualitative approach, the research analyzes how visual and linguistic modes collectively construct non-binary identity through an interdisciplinary framework combining Kress and van Leeuwen's Visual Grammar (2006), Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics (2014), and Butler's Gender Performativity Theory (1990).

The dataset comprises 10 significant visual elements and 45 representative clauses systematically selected through documentary analysis. Visual modes were examined through:

Representational meaning (narrative/conceptual structures)

Interactive meaning (gaze, perspective, social distance)

Compositional meaning (information value, salience, framing)

Linguistic analysis focused on transitivity patterns in the ideational metafunction to reveal actional and relational processes. Butler's theory validated the subversion of binary gender norms through recurring motifs of purple imagery (chromatic hybridity), fluid body postures (kinetic indeterminacy), and non-conforming material processes ("I dance between").

Key findings demonstrate:

Visual hybridization through purple shadows challenges binary color symbolism (blue/pink)

Linguistic hedging ("sometimes...other times") constructs gender fluidity

Compositional tension between centered protagonist and marginalized shadows mirrors queer spatial politics

The study concludes that the picture book's multimodal design effectively denaturalizes gender binaries while maintaining child-accessible narratives. This research contributes to children's literature studies by providing a systematic multimodal framework for analyzing gender representation, with implications for inclusive pedagogy and queer-affirmative literacy education.