Alexa Campagna-- Presentation Post

The presentations, I feel, helped to emphasize the subtly of the prevalent gender biases in children’s television shows. It may seem unnecessary to focus on this topic because one may believe that most children are too naïve to be affected by these gender stereotyped images, yet this is clearly not the case. If children did not internalize the images seen on commercials and TV shows, then we would live in a much more gender neutral world in which girls took on more active, industrious roles and boys were not confined to a wardrobe consisting mostly of blue. I almost feel as though children’s television shows trick viewers into believing that they are truly progressive; actively attempting to rid their shows of harmful gender stereotypes. These shows, as Garrett stated, take two steps forward and two steps back when they incorporate female heroines into the shows’ premises, yet have these characters take a backseat to the leading male heroes. Yes, it is progressive that Dora is a bilingual, adventurous leading female character in Dora the Explorer, but she wears a stereotypically feminine pink shirt and is not nearly as much of a risk-taker as her male counterpart, Diego. This is sending the message that girls can accomplish the same tasks as boys but not to the same extent. Mrs. Renkins of “Curious George,” for example, worked on a farm and dressed in stereotypically masculine farming overalls, yet she was still portrayed as a wife and a mother. This is a blatant attempt to break gender norms, yet a more in depth analysis proves that the female gender norm of woman as caretaker and homemaker is being upheld.

            I was most alarmed by the juxtaposition of the vintage image of Minnie Mouse with the more modern image that is currently being advertised. The black-and-white Minnie used to occupy a more expansive area that allowed for more freedom of movement, yet the current pink polka-dotted Minnie has a more enclosed stature that occupies a much more limited amount of space. As Carly pointed out, the “hidden curriculum,” teaching girls to take up less physical space and to highly value their physical appearances, is virtually inescapable. Children are learning these gendered behaviors in school and continue to learn them when they get home from school and turn on their favorite television program to see their favorite character that they then may try to mimic in appearance and behavior.  A little boy may see that his favorite male character in Arthur does not value academics as highly as some of this character’s female friends and may come to the inaccurate conclusion that boys are inherently not as studious as girls. These false assumptions have future implications that may make it so that boys have more difficulty in school and girls are less likely to work in fields that require greater levels of physical labor.