#12005/12/19 18:09:52
Shaoyi Wang
MEDST300W
Final Project
Prof. Herzog
TV parenting on gender issues
Introduction
There is no such thing as “a pure entertainment cartoon or animation”. All the cartoons, animation or other children programs always tend to teach our children, or, at least, pass down some information from generation to generation. According to a research called Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers in 2003, “63% of children ages 0-6 watch television every day; 25% watch an average of more than two hours of television per day. 36% of children 0-6 have a television in their bedroom; on average these children spend more time watching both television and videos.” (Golin 5) These data obviously establish that children 0-6 spends a lot of time with television together everyday, and we can definitely assume that pre-teens and teenagers might spend even more time on watching TV programs than communicating with their parents in this case. Speaking of parenting, it may sounds extreme ridiculous that if we entrust someone about whom we have completely no idea to take care our children, but this is exactly what most of parents do to their “couch potato” kids today. As I mentioned above, TV had already became a solid sub-parenting system to children nowadays, and it really surprises me that most of the parents have little knowledge about what their kids have been watching all the time, until one day they realize that they may possibly lose control over their kids for not having any idea about what kind of media information that their children are getting for day and night. Actually, even we know what is going on in cartoon programs, still, lots of things have not been taken seriously when they should have, and gender issue is surely one of them.
“One is not born a woman, one is made a woman.” (Simon de Beaunoir) Children learn how to be a certain gender not only by their biological gender type, but also by social behaviors and influences from others. In this case, when their parents are not around, what kind of gender information are these kids being taught by their “TV parents” becomes a serious question.
Gender Stereotype
One of the most common gender issues of media programs is gender stereotype, and it becomes even more obvious in cartoons and animations. The portrait of female characters , for instance, can be the perfect example. According to a research called Gender Representation in Television and Video Programs for Children Ages 0-6: A Literature Review in 2004, the ratio between male heroic characters and female heroic characters in cartoons is 3:1, and even the one out of three is still under the control of stereotype. In her essay Gender Stereotype in Children’s Television Cartoons, Kelly Eick argues that “In all the cartoons studied, the main character in the program was male. Three of the four cartoons had main make character in a heroic role, and one had an inadequate male as the main character. Females were also portrayed in heroic roles, but their actions were supportive in nature to the males in the programs, and much of their input into verbal discussions of the daily dilemma was less valuable than males.” Generally speaking, we rarely see a female character with both heroic action and highly sexual appearance, and in most cases, these two elements are even split into individuals who are actually enemies. In one episode of “My life as a teenage robot”, Jenny, a typical female heroic character, is described as “huge and freaky” by her female schoolmates who are represented as popular but mean. Our female hero really pays for being heroic. Meanwhile, it is so common to see a male leading character being heroic and attractive at the same time. A female cartoon character can never be perfect.
What I argued above is considered the traditional gender stereotype in cartoons and animations. As the world moves on, although “stereotypic gender portrayals are very much a reality in children’s television cartoons, it became more subtle and harder to define over years.” (Eick 9) Back to 10 years or 20 years ago, all the female characters were either doing housework or being sexual symbol in television cartoon programs. Today, we are provided variable female characters with more and more valuable characteristics in cartoons and animations. Therefore, we assume that the gender stereotype are improving. I can not argue so hard about such saying, but I personally rather consider such “improving” a way of disguise. It is true that females become more and more powerful in today’s cartoons and animations, for some instances, even greater than males. However, as Eick argues in her essay, “Males were never seen portraying roles that could be construed as feminine in any way, but females often took jobs that could be traditionally seen as male.” This is exactly how modern stereotypic gender portrayals are being revealed. In both series of “My life as a teenage robot” and “Kim Impossible”, we can the see images of female leading characters doing housework. Although they might just take care of their bedrooms as other teenagers do, we still rarely see male leading character doing such things on television cartoons. To me, these are more like an announcement, which publishes the rearranged vision of gender stereotype in our society. Females nowadays are being stereotyped into a “double duties” situation, which means they are not completely liberated from the traditionally familial responsibilities yet, and they are expected to take over some social responsibilities from males also. In another way, we can assume that the masculine world becomes “tolerant” to females who try to get involve into the seriously social issues, but these women still need to hold on to their former responsibilities.
Therefore, the way of portraying gender stereotype in cartoons and animations are not immutable and frozen. It changes within the development of the social construct. Speaking of such characteristic, it might be, more or less, the positive side of portraying gender stereotype in television cartoons, because, at least, it passes the latest social information down to our children.
Stereotypic Gender Portrayals in Different Cultural Backgrounds
As I argued above, gender issue is linked strongly with the social construct. Therefore, different cultural background may have different way of portraying gender, and it surely manifests in national cartoons and animations. Moreover, this is also the soial gender gene that is being passed down to children from different cultural backgrounds.
Japanese Animation
In late 90s, there were a Janpanese animation called Slam-dunk became very popular. It was based on best selling comics, and the story was basically all about high school basketball teams. It was completely masculine story, and females are totally ignored in this animation. The whole series involves a great deal of sexuality, violence and youth gangster culture, and it was purely marketed to male youth audiences.
Back to early 80s, there was another popular cartoon called “Flower Fairy.” “Flower Fairy” is in the traditional Cinderella narrative structure, and the most delighted part of the series is the female leading character has a flower shape necklace, and she can change her outfits in few seconds by pointing this necklace to the sun. Obviously, this is a girlish cartoon, and what really matters is how the cartoon producers in such cultural background orientate their audiences by gender differences. Clearly, they supposes males care about much more serious issues, when females just simply get satisfy with chaging their outfits by magic. This is surely a way of portraying gender stereotype, or, the attitude toward gender at least.
Another pair of perfect examples are two series of cartoons came out at almost the same time period, Crayon Shin-Chan and Chibi Maruko Chan. Chan in Japanese means little kid, these are actually the stories about two kids. Shin is a 5 year old boy when Maruko is a 9 year old girl. They are in the similar age range and having similar family members, similar living environment and same cultural background. Hoever, Shin lives a much better life than Maruko. Appearently he has more freedom on controlling himself and his mini world. Meanwhile, little girl Maruko struggles with her life. Her family is her problem; her friends in school is her problem; and even she is her own problem. What makes two similar children living completely different life? I suppose gender explains a lot.
Chinese cartoons
Even though they are all Asian countries and sharing common cultural elements more or less, Chinese cartoons and Janpanese animation are completely different in portraying gender issues. It really supries me that there were very few specific gender targeted cartoons in China, specially, there were quiet few of girlish cartoons. It seems as if the cartoon producers in China were trying to ignore the gender gap and just simply making unisex catoons for children in both genders. Moreover, in some cartoons from 80s to 90s, once a female character was portrayed as a sexual symbol, she would surely be represented as a evil character at the same time. One of the most popular cartoons called Calabash Brothers in late 80s can be a perfect example. There were seven leading characters in this cartoon, and none of them is female. Meanwhile, the one female character in this series is an evil snake. Most of the Chinese cartoons were focusing on the educational contains rather than portraying characters in reality.
Conclusion
There was on quote from Eick’s essay really surprises me. Jennie Trias, the network vice president of ABC in 1991, said that “it is well known that boys will watch a male lead and not a female lead. But girls are willing to watch a male lead.” The first thing came to my mind after reading this is one episode in “My life as a teenage robot”. In a episode called Dress to kill/Shell Game, Jenny, our robot hero, carely expressed that she always dreamed about having a male robot took over her duties and herself. Watching such episode of cartoons, we will not be so surprised about why Trias said such things and why the girls really things so. This is what their TV parents have been teaching them all the time. Children do not just watch television cartoons, laugh and forget everything after we turn off the TV. They are much more active than we thought about on responding these programs. Therefore, it is really important and serious of keep an eye of what our children are watching on TV.
