Gender Stereotypes in Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief

Abstract

Gender stereotypes can be found in every facet of human life, and their development is complex and contradictory. Thus, this study aims to determine (a) how van Dijk’s text analysis is applied in The Lightning Thief to reveal gender stereotypes in the novel and (b) how cognition and social situations motivate the writer to produce gender stereotypes in the novel. This study uses qualitative research and document as the research methods. The data source is taken from a novel by Rick Riordan entitled The Lightning Thief. The data is analyzed using van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis. This study shows that (a) there are gender stereotypes in the text analysis (macrostructure, superstructure, and microstructure), (b) gender stereotypes are accentuated by Riordan through his mental representation (opinion) in one of his interviews, and (c) the social situation of the United States also indicates that gender stereotypes still existed in the 1990s and 2000s which can be seen through advertisements, the lyrics of the song, discrimination towards women, and the negative perception of society in women that had higher positions in the workplace and political sphere.