So, these days whenever I have the TV on it is usually on the Nick Jr channel. My daughter has joined the ranks of preschoolers that loves Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go, and The Backyardigans, and recently added to the list is Kai-lan. Many of have you have commented on gender messages that you have seen in sitcoms or drama series like Sex in the City or Grey's Anatomy. How about cartoons? What are your thoughts about the gender messages that are coming through these shows? And, how have these messages changed from when you were a child and watched cartoons? Recently, even Sesame Street introduced a new female character named AbbyCadabby after years of male characters moving to Sesame Street. Dora is an explorer, and with her side kick Boots the monkey they take on adventures! My daughter is learning a lot of words and images, music from this show but what messages about gender? Dora isn't the sidekick but leads the adventures. She figures things out and solves problems as her famous line at the end of the show says "we did it". Kai-lan is another female lead. I watch her as she watches these shows and I am wondering what is she really learning here. What messages about how to think, act, behavior is she absorbing? I like the idea of female leads in these shows as I never had cartoons or really any children's programming when I was a child. (Actuallly, Sesame Street didn't come into existence until I was about 12 y ears old. So, do you think cartoons are adhering to gender stereotypes or are we breaking new ground? What are the words, dress and other nonverbals seen in these characters? How about the storylines? Many women have remarked in journal entries and posts that you weren't allowed to play rough in "boy" play when you were younger. Dora climbs mountains, swings from ropes, and jumps over alligators, and even rides on the backs of dolphins! she dresses in shorts but has a little bracelet on. Wears sneakers but wears clothes that are purple (girl) and orange(boy).
Do you think cartoons are early messages to our preschoolers about gender? If so, what are these messages.
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16 comments:
Yike! I don't watch these cartoons...let me catch up then I'll comment
I never did either, but life does change when you have a child! My husband and I laugh because we are two college professors walking around with "Elmo's world" tune in our heads and sitting in front of the TV dying to put on MSNBC or some other adult show and stuck entertaining my daughter in Nick, Jr world!
Because my children are well beyond cartoon age I know very little about today's children's shows. However, what I've seen is much more politically correct than what was on when I was young.
Cartoons I watched were sexist with women always being damsels in distress or being taken advantage of -- and they were always in dresses no matter how dire their circumstances. Males were always strong and saved the day (but sometimes the women were smarter!)
I know that what I saw when I was young on TV would not fly on today's shows with parents, and even children, being much more sophisticated.
I do not have any children but I have enough nieces and nephews to at least know who Dora is. I think that the message cartoons today are sending is that it's o.k. for girls to do whatever it is that they'd like to do. Dora explores. She is swinging from ropes and jumping over crocodiles. Normally, boys are seen doing such things. I think the message it is sending is that if the girl wants to go out there and do dangerous work, she can and she should! Her clothing (purple and orange) seems to represent the combination of boys and girls colors. I think this is done to appeal to both genders so that it is easier to accept her as a rugged little lady. I remember Bugs Bunny growing up. I also remember the Flintstones. Of course, the Flintstones conveyed the message that women do not work and they take care of the children and home. Bugs Bunny portrayed all men's voices really. Bugs had a girlfriend who appeared from time to time and that would be the only girl. Gossamer, the big orange monster was a boy, Elmer Fudd was a man...so back then, not alot of women were portrayed in cartoons and if they were, they were very stereotypical roles.
Many children definitely spend a lot of time in front of the television. My son can watch television for hours. Television and its contents are a huge contributor to gender as well as gender role development. My son too is a big fan of Diego. He does know about Dora but he prefers Diego because he is a boy and so is Diego. He sometimes says to me Dora is for girls even though Dora and Diego are involved in the same scenarios. But I do like how they have Dora a girl as a the main character doing what boys can do as well.
This is very interesting Professor! I am very familar with Nick Jr. since I have a nephew who enjoys watching it all the time. Indeed, I think these shows tell a message to kids. While my nephew is a huge fan of Blues Clues I can instantly see he relates to it much more closer than other shows on Nick Jr. such as "Dora." I simply think because Steve, the main character is male further attracts my nephew simply because he can relate more to a boy. Though my nephew is only 2yrs old I always wonder why he isn't as interested in Dora as he is in Blues Clues or perhaps Diego. Without a doubt, I simply think its due to gender. Moreover, very few cartoons nowadays focus on gender development. Indeed, I think it would be great for more cartoons to incorporate it in its script.
Professor,
Honestly, I would have never thought about the cartoon this way until I read your blog. I too have a 4 year old and she LOVES Dora and the princesses. I really enjoy watching Dora with her, to me it is interesting. Now that you put another spin on it and related it to gender, I really like her. She allows little girls to think they can do anything they want and take the lead. Also, they learn a different language, Spanish. To me it fuels their mind and allows the children to be achievers!
My daughter is the little boss in the class telling everyone what to do and trying to be a leader. It is funny because a lot of little boys like to watch Dora and vice versa where a lot of little girls like Diego. At this young age, in my opinion, I do not want my child to act as a girl or do girlie things. I want her to do what she wants whether it is masculine or feminine and have fund doing whatever she chooses. Sesame Street now has a lot of different characters that many children can relate to or like regardless of gender. Look at Elmo!! Everyone likes him!
The only show I have seen is Dora the Explorer. From what I have seen, she exemplifies attitudes and roles that are not designated for girls, such as climbing trees and some of the adventures she endures. As you said, Dora leads the adventures. In my opinion, women are secondary when it comes to leading adventures, such as car trips (because men just know directions). Your daughter may actually learn inconsistent gender roles because of Dora, but there are other shows that put those roles into the correct perception. Watching Dora isn't a bad thing. Just like you said, your daughter is learning words, images, and music. It's an educational program. There's nothing wrong with that; just a little bit of inconsistency. Your daughter may end up with a better perspective on sex and gender because she learned the differences early on. Having a better perspective on this allows for more respect towards people and a better appreciation.
I grew up in different country, we did not have the T.V.till later and I do not remember watching cartoons when I was growing up.Now my kids are older, so I hardly watch any cartoons with a full-time job and school and another part-time job there is hardly any time left for T.V.
Kids these days are very smart, they pick very fast on every little detail especially the bad things and odd things, so the best thing is to watch them what programs they are seeing on T.V.
Dora sounds like a good role model for girls because she does not seem to be limited by her gender; yet not afraid to like jewelry realizing she can still be feminine if she wishes. When I think of cartoons Disney movies comes to mind and here is where the unfair messages about gender come in. Disney cartoons stick with a formula of masculine, violent, overpowering males who use knives and guns to get their way. Females are generally portrayed as sexy, submissive, and helpless. The non-attractive are usually evil. Youtube.com- what the kids are Watching – Disney Gender – shows Disney movies spliced together to illustrate the above Disney messages. These messages were in Disney movies since all of us were children – helping to shape the way children and adults think about gender in our world.
I have not seen many of rhese shows but my 2 year old nephew loves Diego and Dora. From what I have seen Dora is not your typical female. They have her doing all kinds of adventurous things like climbing and swinging from trees and not afraid to get herself dirty. I think this is good because it shows little girls that it is okay for them to do the same type of things as boys. They do not have to sit all clean and pretty in a dress and worry that they cannot do anything that might dirty them up. My niece is 1 and I think because my nephew watches these shows that she will too and she is going to end up learning from them that she can do the same things as her brother can even though she is a girl.
Professor, I like this concept a lot. I would hope to have a child one day with cartoons being the way they are now I think my child will learn early in life that no matter your gender you can be in a lead position. I think it’s a good thing for a young girl to see a girl not be in a cartoon but star in one. It shows that we are important and we can hold things down for ourselves. As a child I had shows like the smurffs and even though I loved the show the only girl was smurffette and she was a supporting role with the show evolving around the men. This was common but today is a new day and as time goes on I think we will see many more cartoons where women (girls) are in charge. Soon there will be cartoons where the only character is a girl where no supporting actor (character) will be needed. This will make so when a young girl goes to grade school she will feel no limitations on her potential.
I went through the Nick jr. vegetative state with my older daughter Lauren. She was born in 1992 so I caught Barney, Sesame Street, as well as the Disney Reportiore of princess videos. Now with my daughter Kai (2 1/2 yrs. old) we are slaves to Nick, Nick Jr., Sprout, PBS, and the timeless Disney movies are back. My husband thought I was demented when I could recall every line of Mary Poppins the first time I watched it with Kai. It was poetic justice the day I caught him humming "Supercalifragiliciousexpialidocious" while grilling. As for gender roles--there's definitely been some progress. It isn't all about princesses being saved by previously unknown princes with a single magical kiss. (Yeah, like that works, huh girls?!) Dora & Kai-lan (my daughter is starting to realize her name is the same as Kai-lan, she says "she Kai name too") and the Wonderpets (my husband's favorite) all make things happen. Once has to consider though, how Dora and Boots consult "the map" when there's a place they need to go. Big red flag here-- Diego, Dora's boy cousin with own 30 min gig--does not have a singing map in his show. Hmmmmm...perhaps he has a navigation system in his "rescue pack". So maybe they're still somewhat biased, but not as bad as "the old days" of cartoons. The Wonderpets (my husband's favorite)on Nick Jr. are non-gendered (I think) & they stress resucing baby animals via teamwork. My Kai wanted to help me water our flowers outside, and when she got the hose in her hands she actually started singing the "What's gonna work? Teamwork" song. I almost cried. Tomorrow's lesson: sock-sorting, the ultimate familial teamwork challenge.
I think these TV shows are a significant influence on children especially the commercials. Children will mimic these shows and want to do exactly what the characters do and wear the same style and color that their characters wear on TV. This extends to food and cereals as well. Children will want to eat cereals that are the bright colors and shapes that they are engendered to through stereotypical gender socialization for that is exactly what these shows portray. I think its a good thing that some more modern shows for children break the characters out of some of the stereotypical roles and that both sexes and genders can watch then for enjoyment not for gender identity reinforcement. Is that possible?
This is an interesting topic because my son watches all of these cartoons. I personally never looked at Dora in such a light to question what gender message she is portraying, however I do love to watch the show. I think its educational as well as fulfilling for young children. I feel that children can learn and grow with Dora. There are a lot of positive messages in her show. Dora takes the time to put pieces together for task and attack the task. All while doing this she is encouraging the children watching to interact with her and do these task as well. One thing I will say I have noticed with Dora and men over the years is that boys love her, and the fathers, my husband included dont think its appropriate to let their sons watch Dora or play with Dora toys. So here comes Diego!! He was created to put off the same image and imaginative character that Dora puts off but for the males. Although he is okay and a well known figure, he no where near tops Dora. I also love the Backyardigans; I think that cartoon shows a lot of diversity. Look at the names of the children, Unique, Tyron, Pablo. Children probably cant relate but I certainly can see they are all from different ethnic backgrounds, and this teaches children to listen and understand different names and cultures at an early age. And I also think Abby was a great addition to Sesame, the children love her, and your right what used to be a all males role in sesame is now open to females. We visit Sesame on the regular and its interesting to watch the characters in the parade they have daily. The female characters really take on a more feminine role by allowing the males to open the doors for them etc. teaching the children at an early age about gendered responsibilities etc. I will say cartoons have changed from when I was a child, although we had barbie and Gi Joe, children today have a whole new world of cartoons, characters and messages.
I hope its not too late to comment. I finally found some time to watch one of these shows (I sat down with my nephew). They are interesting and the portrayal of the genders is also an improvment from the Flintstones. Dora is actually a very independent young girl who explores on her own (this kid doesn't need a boy to lead her around). I also watched the backyardigans and the female characters participate as much as the boys. I'm glad to see that there is an overall message that every gender can explore and learn. It sets a great stage for our future.
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