Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the Mr Men and Little Miss books imply women are “less”.
Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the Islington South and Finsbury MP was asked if she thought the children’s books were sexist and whether she identified with a “Little Miss” character.
“I don’t like this thing about being little,” she said.
“I think that’s what my problem with the Mr Men books is.
“Why is it that you have Mr Men, and then Little Miss? Do you see what I mean? There is something about women being less.”
She continued: “If it was Miss, I don’t have any problem with being Miss Trouble.”
The books were being discussed after a university study found Roger Hargreaves’ stories portray the women as less powerful and play to gender stereotypes.
Host Piers Morgan criticised the study, which was presented by the University of Lincoln at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference, saying: “Why do people bother with these things?
“Imagine taking the Mr Men books seriously, thinking ‘I know what I’m going to do, I’m going to do a very in-depth deep dive investigative survey into why Mr Men is sexist’.”
PA contributed to this report
