The study then explores not just Seuss’s early work, but also his children’s books, through the lens of the controversial “Critical Race Theory,” which suggests that literature be examined with an eye to its alleged inherent racism and connection to issues of racial justice. The specific study examined “fifty of fifty-nine” Dr. Seuss works, analyzing issues such as how many times white characters appeared as opposed to characters of color, which characters are put into positions of hierarchy, whether characters of color are dehumanized or made to seem “exotic,” whether the book embraces racial stereotypes or caricatures, and whether Seuss’s works specifically exhibited racism, sexism, and white supremacy.
Perhaps it is not surprising that the authors, intent on finding problematic issues, discovered problems with the vast majority of Dr. Seuss books and nearly every Dr. Seuss character. Most of the characters Dr. Seuss uses are not human, but of those that are, just 2% are characters of color, the study found. And all of those are deemed problematic.
“Of the forty-five characters of color, forty-three are identified as having characteristics aligning with the definition of Orientalism. Within the Orientalist definition, fourteen people are identified by stereotypical East Asian characteristics and twenty-nine characters are wearing turbans,” the study’s authors say. “Only two of the forty-five characters are identified in the text as ‘African’ and both align with the theme of anti-Blackness. White supremacy is seen through the centering of Whiteness and White characters, who comprise 98% (2,195 characters) of all characters. Notably, every character of color is male. Males of color are only presented in subservient, exotified, or dehumanized roles.”
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