Saturday 12 November 2011

Disney Stereotypes for Villains

   When we think of the general stereotypes that are seen in children's literature, the first two that come to mind is that of  the young, beautiful, princess-like female and the counterpart of the strong, young, handsome male.  Yet, there is another stereotype that always finds its' way into a majority of children's stories and usually follows a very typical appearance and general behavior, the villain.  No spell-binding story is complete without one.   A villain is obviously a character that is supposed to embody that which is bad and wants to create misfortune for what are the good characters of the story.  Generally, we all know that a villain can take the shape or form of just about anyone, but in children's literature the female villain is usually old, mean, and greedy while the male villain is typically old, fat, and ugly.  It is quite rare to come across a villain that is youthful or attractive.  The pattern is certainly set to create an unmistakeable image for young children exposed to these characters.


                                                                                        source: deviantart.com
  
  What is the intrinsic message that is being sent?  That bad people are born old and mean or is it that old and fat people become bad people?  Regardless of the evolution of how a villain becomes a villain, one message that is clear is that children do not like to identify with the bad character.  They know that they should root for the young attractive protagonists and hope for the demise of the mean, old, villain.  This is certainly embedded in the child's mind so that when Halloween time comes and they have to decide who they want to dress as, chances are "Sleeping Beauty" will be the winner instead of "Maleficent."

                                                                                                                                     

Thursday 10 November 2011

Geena Davis Institute on Gender & Media

For those of us that had the wonderful opportunity to watch Miss Representation, Genna Davis was one of the powerful talkers that shared her views on the female roles in Disney cartoons.  She very observantly noticed that most of the attire of the female characters is incredibly provocative and leaves little to the imagination.  Needless to say this does not present to be a problem for the male counterparts.

Ms. Davis has an organization: Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media:  http://www.seejane.org/index.php   The objective for this organization is to create awareness in the the major discrepancies faced between the female and male characters, that it is being noticed, what is being done, and what to do before they become an issue in your household.  An example of what this organization highlights is, for example, the typical profession that a G-rated character finds itself in for example, this can be found on their research pages at:  http://www.seejane.org/research/

This is a must-vist page for anyone wanting to familiarize themselves with how gender is constructed and molded in the media and will hopefully keep us cognizant of what we are being fed .

Beware the Wolf

One of the most adapted children's stories is one of Red Riding Hood. It is also one of the oldest. It has been adapted from short poems to short stories to children's books to cartoons to movies and even to porn. The symbolism of the red hood has generated much criticism of the moral and meaning behind the story. One of the more popular theories suggest that the moral behind Red Riding Hood is to warn budding women to take care of their sexuality( symbolized by red) when they reach puberty( also symbolized by red) so as to not entice man's baser instincts (symbolized by the wolf). In so many words, it basically means that women should work on hiding their sexuality for fear of being predated on by men. To top everything else the story ends with Red Riding Hood being saved by a woodcutter, a big hard working man who is the only one capable of killing the wolf. However as the years have progressed there have been many adaptations to the story, some for the worse but some for the better.


This is what an innocent and helpless Red Riding Hood should look like in order to evoke sympathy from the readers and to reinforce the belief that this girl is in need of protection from a man from other men.



This picture could be interpreted as Red Riding Hood seducing the wolf with her large chest and supposed "feminine beauty".

 

This is a picture from the cartoon "Hoodwinked". It shows Red Riding Hood fighting back, which is reason to hope that these gender stereotypes are being recognized in children's literature and steps are being taken to change the previous perception.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Motherly Figures in Children's Literature

In Beyond the Apron, Gibson highlights several stereotypes and archetypes of motherly figures in children’s literature. These examples include: Wendy from Peter Pan as the nurturing mother, the Duchess from Alice in Wonderland as the horrifying/terrible mother, Mary from Mary Poppins as the wise and witty mother. These different portrayals of mother archetypes mainly serve to instruct children, especially girls, the proper behavior of being a mother, preparing them for entering womanhood.



Wendy: The nurturing and caring

The motherly figure who tucks everyone in bed, darns their socks, tells them bedtime stories and prepares imaginary meals.




Mary Poppins: The stern but loving

The beautiful nanny (motherly figure), strict but loving, who teaches children to function within paternal order.






The Duchess: The bad and irresponsible

The mother who tosses her child around, beats her child when he is crying, gives the child away when she has a game to attend to. She is the one that one should not become.



However, in recent children literature, those engaging with postmodernism, the purpose of motherly figures seems more ambiguous. Their presence seem to portray an example of existing mother, rather than teaching children how to behave correctly as mothers.

Mrs. Coulter from Pullman’s Golden Compass:

Despite being greedy and ambitious, she knows her duty as a mother. In addition, she is capable of exhibiting every quality of a dear nurturing mother when circumstances require her to. When seducing children, Mrs. Coulter will put up her sweet, nurturing front. This applies even when she is interacting with her own daughter Lyra. However, her display of affection for children is a mere tool for her to get to her goals, which she eventually does.
Mrs. Coulter is illustrated as a dangerous seductress/enchantress. Her danger to children lies in the fact that she manipulates her motherly and nurturing side to appeal to the children. She uses care and affection to mask her evil intentions. These motherly behaviors of hers are not presented in the novel to make a statement on how mothers should behave. Her role as a motherly figure in the novel becomes more ambiguous. Though she fulfills certain roles and behaviors that a mother should possess, she does not use them with a motherly purpose. These nurturance acts thus cease to have any significance to what it means to be a mother.

Works cited:
Gibson, Lois Rauch. “Beyond the Apron: Archetypes, Stereotypes, and Alternative Portrayals of Mothers in Children’s Literature.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 13.4 (1988): 177-81.
Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Print.

Monday 7 November 2011

Male Stereotypes in Disney Characters



Many Disney stories focus on a female protagonist that embodies the essence of beauty and frailty. The male protagonist is usually expected to symbolize strength and typically "Saves the Day." To add to this very formulaic approach in children's literature, the male embodiment sends a message of what it takes in order to reach an end where "Everyone lives happily ever after." As this animated image demonstrates, it takes: wealth, charm, fame, and of course, good-looks. This is the not too subtle message that is being sent to the young boys that are reading these stories at a very impressionable age. Furthermore, in most of the Disney stories that follow a fairytale approach, the male lead is almost always overshadowed to the point that their names are not something that pops up as quickly as "Cinderella" or "Snow White." Ask yourself if you can name one of the male characters from any of the traditional Disney stories?

Image Source: Buzzfeed.com

Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Sexism and Racism

From ANTI-BIAS CURRICULUM:
TOOLS FOR EMPOWERING YOUNG CHILDREN
Louise Derman-Sparks and the A.B.C. Task Force

1. Check the Illustrations
Look for Stereotypes.
Look for Tokenism (eg. Do all minorities look stereotypically alike?)
Who's Doing What? (eg. Are males active, women passive?)

2. Check the Story Line
Standard for Success.
Resolution of Problems.
Role of Women.

3. Look at the Lifestyles

4. Weigh the Relationships Between People
(eg. Who has the power, makes decisions, takes leadership?)

5. Note the Heroes

6. Consider the Effects on a Child's Self-image
(eg. Do norms presented limit a child's self concept or aspirations?)

7. Consider the Author's or Illustrator's Background

8. Check Out the Author's Perspective

9. Watch for Loaded Words
(eg. sexist language or loaded adjectives such as 'conniving, lazy, and crafty)

10. Look at the Copyright Date
(Non-sexist books were mostly not at all published before 1974.)

http://www.teachingforchange.org/files/033-A.pdf

Article review...

Gender Role Stereotyping of Parents in Children's Picture Books: The Invisible Father.

Anderson, D. A., & Hamilton, M. (2005).



In this study, 200 popular children's books were coded for physical presence, actions, emotions, and mentions of mothers and fathers in addition to images and instances of parental nurturing. The results revealed that fathers appeared in only 47% of the books surveyed and were highly under-represented, unaffectionate, and lacking in display of childcare. They were shown as taking very little part in their children's lives and shown as primarily unemotional. Mothers, in contrast, were most often shown as emotionally expressive caring nurturers.



Anderson, D. A., & Hamilton, M. (2005). Gender Role Stereotyping of Parents in Children's Picture Books: The Invisible Father. Sex Roles, 52(3-4), 145-151. doi:10.1007/s11199-005-1290-8

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0d44b004-95ff-427f-8963-d79a00d0160a%40sessionmgr15&vid=2&hid=17