The Influence of Childrens Media on the Perception of Gender Roles 1

Running Head: The Influence of Childrens Media on the Perception of Gender Roles

The Influence of Childrens Media on the Perception of Gender Roles

Emily Crawford
Glen Allen High School

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Introduction
As stereotypes of all types continue to make their way into society as a force seemingly
more and more difficult to break, gender stereotypes are prevalent in a variety of examples of
media. In particular, they play a more a dominant role in childrens media than one might think.
As children watch their movies, play with their toys, and read their books, they are absorbing
information of what girls and boys should do. This literature review examines the different
ways in which the media portrays these stereotypes while looking at the impacts they have on
childrens self-esteem and career choices. Additionally, this review touches on what media
companies are doing, if anything, to address the gender stereotypes they are advertising to such a
young, vulnerable audience. It overviews the negative effects, which suggests that gender
stereotypes do more harm than good, especially in younger generations as they become more
exposed to it without even being aware.
Examples of Gender Stereotypes in Childrens Media
The Disney Corporation is one the largest and well-known companies in the world, as it
continues to be extremely popular in childrens entertainment. However, in a study conducted in
2004, it was found that of 26 Disney films, minority groups were portrayed negatively, rarely, or
not at all. Gender images remained stereotypic throughout time, beginning with the first Disney
film in 1937. Only four women were found to have out-of-the-home employment, and 24
examples were found of women performing domestic tasks. For example:
Dundes (2001) analyzed Pocahontas and found some conflicting messages about gender.
In many ways Pocahontas is portrayed as a strong female character; however, at the end
of the film, she follows a stereotypic female script. At the end of the film, Pocahontas
says she is needed at home, and the movie has a sad feeling, giving the sense she is
staying out of duty to her community. Dundes concluded that Pocahontas could have sent
a stronger feminist message if it had a different ending. For instance, Dundes argued that

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if Pocahontas had been portrayed as staying at home out of choiceperhaps taking on a
leadership role in the communityshe would have appeared less role-constrained (24).
Such stereotypes are also clearly present in childrens literature. In a study conducted in
2003, students uncovered a number of gender stereotypes in books such as ones by Dr. Suess.
After examining text, symbols, characters, colors, and themes, they discovered the stereotypes
that these things entailed. In 2002, an analysis was done on the educational software for
preschoolers to look at gender representations. The results showed significantly more male
characters than female characters. Male characters were more likely than females to exhibit
masculine stereotypical traits. Female characters also had stereotypical behaviors, mostly in
regards to their physical appearance.
Impact on Self-Esteem in Social Situations
A study in 1996 associated with social norms and playing electronic games showed that if
conforming to gender stereotypes that are in the games maintains social approval, that those who
chose other playing patterns risk social sanction. This is an example of the ease of conforming to
gender stereotypes for the sake of ones reputation to the remainder of society. This is especially
important because at young adolescent ages, conformity becomes such an important part of their
lives as they strive to be like their peers. In a body-image study conducted among preschoolers:
The cultural stereotype that fat is bad was pervasive across gender, regardless of the
child's own body build. In fact, overweight preschoolers demonstrated stronger
stigmatism than did those who were not overweight. The findings suggest that efforts to
counteract body size stigmatism should begin in the early preschool years (429).
These findings reflect how problems arise with body-image and appearance at such a young age.
Gender stereotypes play a role in this, especially for females, as they are constantly reminded of
societys ideal beauty standards.

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Impact on Career Choices
In a poll of boys and girls, when asked when professions they want to be when they grow
up, the boys answers consisted of pro athletes, firemen, engineers, and astronauts all maledominated fields in modern day. The girls responded with teachers and bakers professions that
are commonly associated with females. A 2002 study showed that girls showed greater flexibility
in their career aspirations, ruling out fewer options than males. Boys aspired to be in careers that
were higher in education and that had more prestige than the jobs that the girls preferred. This
continues to be the case so many years later as males continue to dominate the math and science
fields and women take on more domestic responsibilities. This information is significant because
it could suggest that people are going into careers that they are not actually passionate about;
rather, they are going into the fields that they feel society is pushing them to go into. This reflects
the strong power that social norms have, so much to the point that people are willing to sacrifice
their dream job for what society thinks about them.
How Companies are Addressing It
Following customer complaints, Target has announced that they will begin to remove
gender-based descriptions for childrens toys and items in their stores. Additionally, in 2014,
Lego introduced its Research Institute play set with a females working in the math and science
professions, fields mainly dominated by males:
In 2014, when Lego introduced its Research Institute play set that included a female
chemist, astronomer and paleontologist figurines, liberal blog ThinkProgress argued that
the toys very existence could combat current gender equality issues like gender
disparities in science and technology jobs. New Lego figures cant fix all of those
problems, ThinkProgress reported. But they could get some girls hooked on science
who might have otherwise thought they shouldnt be interested (Johnson).

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The fact that stores and companies are working towards getting rid of gender stereotypes
in their displays and products is promising. It shows that gender stereotypes have been seen as a
problem by so much of society that companies are actively working to create change to please
their customers. If businesses continue to do this, then it is possible that American society could
be seeing dramatic changes in gender stereotypes, and therefore, childrens esteem and career
aspirations, quite soon.
Conclusion
This literature review provide multiple examples of the ways in which young children are
introduced to gender stereotypes as well as the impacts they have on their future. The subject is
relevant to children of all ages, and therefore should certainly be addressed. Gender stereotypes
are extremely difficulty to break, but steps backward are being made. While attempts are being
made to prevent this, it should still be seen as a problem that must be fixed for the benefit of
societys children. Perhaps the elimination of gender stereotypes can lead to the same effect for
stereotypes of all kinds, as minorities in genders struggle to make choices based purely on
intrinsic motivation. Getting rid of this would cause an immediate domino effect. Higher selfesteem would lead to career choices based on interest, which would drastically alter the statistics
of genders and professions, all of which ultimately will lead to a society free of social barriers
and full of success.

Works Cited

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Cramer, P., & Steinwert, T. (1998). Thin is good, fat is bad: How early does it begin?. Journal of
applied developmental psychology, 19(3), 429-451. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397399800495
Johnson, C. (2015). Debate Rages over Gender-Specific Toys. Washington Times. Retrieved
from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/8/debate-rages-over-gender
specific-toys/?page=all
Mendez, L. M. R., & Crawford, K. M. (2002). Gender-role stereotyping and career aspirations:
A comparison of gifted early adolescent boys and girls. Prufrock Journal, 13(3), 96-107.
Retrieved from http://joa.sagepub.com/content/13/3/96.short
Remington, J. (2015). When I grow Up, I Want to be A. CareerOneStop. Retrieved from
http://blog.careeronestop.org/?p=671
Taylor, F. (2003). Content Analysis and Gender Stereotypes in Children's Books. Teaching
Sociology, 31(3), 300311. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3211327
Towbin, M. A., Haddock, S. A., Zimmerman, T. S., Lund, L. K., & Tanner, L. R. (2004). Images
of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated
Films. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15(4), 19-44. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/j086v15n04_02