Matemática Ilustrada, Gênero Reforçado? Representações Visuais e Desigualdades nos Livros do PNLD

Abstract

This work presents a gender analysis of the images found in a collection of Mathematics textbooks from the National Textbook and Teaching Material Program (PNLD) selected for the 2024–2027 period, seeking to understand how such representations contribute to either the maintenance or the disruption of gender stereotypes and asymmetries in the school context. To this end, an integrative review was conducted, selecting and analyzing related academic works—including articles, dissertations, and theses—that critically address the presence of images in Brazilian basic education textbooks. The research also drew on a theoretical discussion of the concept of gender and its historical construction, considering the transformations in gender relations over time. In addition, approaches from Social Psychology were employed, with emphasis on the concepts of self-image, self-esteem, and self, in order to understand the symbolic effects of these representations on the students’ subjective formation. Finally, the theoretical studies carried out support the analysis of images from a collection consisting of four Mathematics textbooks offered by the PNLD for use in public schools at the Elementary Education – final years level. The results indicate that the images present in the textbooks directly influence how female students perceive themselves and position themselves socially, reinforcing social patterns that can both limit and expand their possibilities of identity and agency. The analysis of the chosen collection shows that, although there are occasional advances, most of the images still reproduce traditional social roles, reinforcing historical inequalities between men and women. It is concluded that the textbook, as both a pedagogical and cultural tool, holds great potential to foster more plural and critical representations, contributing to a fairer and more inclusive education, provided that visual discourses move beyond being merely illustrative and begin to consciously represent the diversity of subjects present in society.