It’s hard to find women even featured in cartoons in the first place, but when they are, they’re portrayed as weak, vulnerable or subservient, and they paint an unrealistic picture of who they are in general. Women are usually helpless when it comes to defending themselves, and sometimes are no more than just decoration. Cartoons usually make women look powerless and usually were written in as housewives or stay at home Moms. In The Flintstones, Wilma is always doing housecleaning, cooking, taking care of Pebbles, and even taking care of Fred.
So, do children use the portrayals of males and females in a cartoon format as a model for performance of their own genders? I believe they do and even though it has been shown that more boys watch cartoons than females, cartoons tell cultural stories to, both boys and girls, that inform young minds about who they are to become, especially cartoons, which make up the majority of children's television viewing between the ages of two and eleven.
I looked at the cartoon series Scooby Doo that was shown predominately in the 70’s. The female characters were Daphne and Velma. In these cartoons males outnumbered females considerably. Females never played the part of the main hero or problem solver. In general, they were in supporting roles. The majority of females shown were also dressed and drawn stereotypically, with tiny waists and short skirts. The males seemed even more confined than the females in regards to the roles they were allowed to play and the way they are dressed. Male cartoon characters are not only more prominent than female characters, but they also portray a broader range of masculine traits. Male characters were powerful, strong, smart, aggressive and so on. Occasionally there's a token female cartoon character but she's bland, weak, and more submissive than aggressive.
| Numbers of Males and Females | Scooby Doo: Where are You | |
| Males | 35 | |
| Females | 12 | |
In the following video from one of the episodes of Scooby Doo, Daphne screams out in horror as she points in the direction of her fear only to find that she has seen herself in a trick mirror that makes her look fat. Her friend says “Don’t worry, you look perfect”. Daphne is always portrayed as the frail, helpless, self centered female who most times is portrayed as not being smart enough to help solve the case. If she does, she stumbles upon it by accident. Always, her hair perfect, and her cloths unharmed.
Overall, the negative portrayal of women/girls in cartoons just furthers gender inequality. I think it’s about time this type of stereotyping stopped, so children will no longer be misinformed about gender roles. After all, women are now much tougher, stronger and more independent than ever. Cartoons show significant differences in the status, behavior and capabilities of female and male characters. Thus cartoons tell cultural stories that can't help but inform young minds about who they are to become.
Therefore, it can be assumed that children might use the portrayals of males and females in cartoon format as a model for performance of their own genders, in order to assimilate into the norms of their culture. Since very young children often have difficulty telling fantasy from reality, they are particularly susceptible to the portrayals of gender types on television.
2 comments:
Do you think this portrayal of girls/women in cartoons has changed recently? For example, in both the "Powerpuff Girls" and "Totally Spies", all the central characters are female; and although they might be described as 'girly', they do fight and beat a lot of (male) monsters and villains. Another example is the show "Kim Possible": the central character is a strong woman, as is the villain she most often fights (Shego), while both the male sidekick (Ron) and the central male villain (Dr. Drakken) usually seem weaker, ineffective, or not very intelligent (and are both fooled and rescued by the women). In all these cases, the female characters combine both the stereotypical (perhaps sexualized) image or outward appearance and behavior of women, with a strong personality and professions/occupations which seem to challenge the stereotype. Also, in "Kim Possible", Kim's mom is an educated, professional woman (a neurosurgeon) who still manages to take care of her family. Do you think such representations of women could balance out the other more traditional and stereotypical ones?
Another example of a more recent cartoon which seems to have balanced male and female characters is "Rugrats"- for every boy central character (Tommy, Chuckie, Phil) there is a girl (Angelica, Susie, Lil) who seems to have as big a role in the plot. The adult female characters also seem to be pretty balanced: Tommy's mom mostly stays at home but is also a part-time teacher; Susie's mom is a doctor; Angelica's mom is the CEO of a company; and Phil and Lil's mom works with Chuckie's dad in a coffee shop (and has a strong personality and also seems to be a feminist). Do you think shows like this are setting a good (or at least better) example for kids to follow?
I think it is important to have strong female characters within cartoons. While the girls from Totally Spies and Kim Possible fight they also have girly attributes. I think this is a conscious effort by the writers to show that females can have girly attributes but also stand up for themselves and that by standing up for themselves it does not make them masculine. Although writers do this at the risk of alienating girls who do not like fighting cartoons or girls that are tomboys and do not want see characters so made-up. I think it is tough to present strong female characters because there is always the risk of alienating a certain group. Regardless of this alienation I think the depiction of strong females should continue.
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