Focus Less on the Stereotype, and More on Who You Want to Become
Following gender stereotypes too closely can lead to major issues for children as their minds develop. Such examples include kids seeing men as the dominant gender; over-sexualized dolls and over-masculine action figures changing their ideals for developing their character; and girls feeling pressure from the media and peers to be an inanimate object for the pleasure of men. Gender stereotypes tend to look more at the desirable qualities women and men should possess, as well as the roles they should play when they get older. Having that scenario is why many children develop self-esteem issues and feel that when they are older, they will have limited opportunities and have to settle for the traditional career that goes by the representations (i.e., homemaker, business worker). The gender stereotypes should never get taken seriously since they are assumptions for how women and men should act and dress. The goal of the stereotypes is not to deliberately say to children this is who you must become, but instead they reinforce the content so that helps to change their attitudes and persona. For them to develop better perceptions of gender and themselves, children must have more confidence about their career choice and appearance, and they should always be themselves and never let anyone try to convince them otherwise. In the following video, Julie Frechette discusses how our society would benefit from both genders getting seen as equal, and the ways women can have better visions of their lives.
For children to have better images of themselves, one major step is to improve the way the media present gender. As Frechette explains, women can develop stronger perceptions of themselves if they get shown content that depicts them as being in charge of their own destiny, and not having to get rescued or saved from higher forces. Representations must show women as being smart, intellectual and thoughtful, without focusing only on their body, and the difference they can make in a man’s life (Frechette, 2016). Giving young girls those messages at an early age can boost their self-confidence and make them more determined to accomplish any goals they have. They should never think that they are here to please men and work around the clock only to get seen as second-class citizens. Instead, they are here with the same purpose as men: to succeed in life. Girls bring the same work ethic and capabilities to the table as men do, so they should never get discriminated in the workplace because of their gender. They may also aspire to hold high-level positions such as a CEO or president, since they will develop relevant experience that will make them stand out as much as men do, if not more. If Mary Barra and Sheryl Sandberg can be successful, any girl can, too. The general gender stereotypes give the message of what women are supposed to do or cannot do, rather than what they can do. The more media producers and writers can make women in charge of their own destiny in the content they develop, girls will feel that their possibilities are endless and they will not get viewed as second-class citizens.
Going Beyond the Traditional Roles
The accurate depictions of gender do not get reinforced as much for children as they get older, which is why when they become teenagers, they live by the traditional stereotypes and do not view themselves with a positive attitude. It’s too bad that the programming targeted to teens does not continue the same positive message about gender equality that children were exposed to when they were younger. Knowing the right way to see gender will allow kids to go beyond the traditional roles and know that gender does not limit your potential as a human being. One strong approach children understand from shows such as Caillou and Doc McStuffins is the idea of role reversal, where women and men take on tasks and activities that are more common of the gender. In a study done by Corder-Bolz, researchers showed an episode of All in the Family to 500 elementary-school children in which the father, Frank, did stereotypical female chores, such as cooking, and the wife, Irene, did stereotypical male chores, such as fixing appliances. During the presentation, many of the children heard messages from the experimenters encouraging the acceptance of traditional non-gender roles. Children who heard the meditation message were more likely to accept non-gender roles than children who did not hear the message (Coyne, Linder, Rasmussen, Nelson and Collier, 2014). Exposing children to role reversal is an exemplary approach for them to realize that it is normal for men to do tasks that women usually do, and for women to do items that one would expect a man to carry out. Role reversal goes along very well with the ideology that are no limitations for what women and men do want to do, and it will give children a better perspective of specific roles they would like to carry out. Showing children that gender stereotypes do not define one’s personalities and capabilities will allow them to be more accepting of role reversal, as well as not being afraid to defy gender stereotypes.
A study done by Adela Moraru and Valentina Zetes looked at the ways children view femininity and masculinity, by showing them two traditional pictures and two non-traditional pictures. The traditional pictures included a woman as a homemaker and a man working in business. The results showed that children hold standard views about the traditional stereotypes, where 75 percent saw the homemaker as feminine, and 75 percent saw the business worker as masculine. The non-traditional pictures included a woman in business attire and a man holding a baby. The responses children had went along with role reversal since the majority of responses did not go with the traditional attribute. For the female business worker, 80 percent of respondents saw characteristics of both femininity and masculinity, and half of respondents saw both attributes with the “dad mom,” (Moraru and Zetes, 2017) The ways children understand femininity and masculinity go along with how they understand role reversal and how they can be more accepting of it. Often, men do household chores to relieve their wives when they get home from work, as well as when they are home on weekends. On the same token, many women take care of mowing the lawn and other mechanical chores that men typically do. Although they will see that femininity gets associated with women and masculinity with men, they must know that it is always appropriate for both genders to have feminine and masculine characteristics.
No More to Stereotypes
Many of the advertisements we see in the U.S. have so many negative gender stereotypes that their messages get reinforced in children’s minds which can make them believe that what they see is accurate. The stereotypes in these ads include men struggling to change diapers, and women trying to clean around their husband as he relaxes on the couch. To help solve matters and remove these distorted perceptions, Britain’s advertising regulator announced in December 2018 that gender stereotypes would be banned from British advertising. The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority said in a statement that it will also ban ads that connect physical features with success in the romantic or social spheres; assign stereotypical personality traits to boys and girls, such as bravery for boys and tenderness for girls; suggest that new mothers should prioritize their looks or home cleanliness over their emotional health; and mock men for being bad at stereotypically “feminine” tasks, such as vacuuming, washing clothes or parenting. The move came in response to several advertisements that showcased women in numerous stereotypical aspects, including an unhealthy thin model in a Gucci commercial, and a Rimmel ad with model Cara Delevingne, where she had unnaturally voluminous eyebrows (Safronova, 2019). Banning gender stereotypes in advertisements is an outstanding approach since children will no longer see the traditional norms that go into gender and choose any path for how they want to live their life. For example, they will see that it is appropriate to develop the personality that they want to have; they will become more accepting of gender neutrality; and they can hold aspirations about whoever they want to be when they grow up. The U.K. is not alone in developing legislation for the removal of gender stereotypes in advertisements. Other nations such as Belgium, France, Finland, Greece, Norway, South Africa and India, have laws or codes of varying degrees and age that prevent gender discrimination in ads. In the U.S., guidelines on stereotypes in advertising are only offered by the group that oversees ads that target children (Safronova, 2019). Seeing other countries ban gender stereotypes in advertisements is a great practice that the U.S. can use to help create better messages for children that go beyond the traditional scope. As we know, children are very impressionable, and the more they get exposed to ads and programming with traditional stereotypes, they are more likely to rely on them as they are developing physically and intellectually. Removing gender stereotypes completely from American advertising would be an excellent step in the right direction to help with alleviating everyone’s perceptions on how they view gender in our society.
As far as toys are concerned, many parents have pushed for gender-neutral sections in toy stores to remove the barriers for girls and boys who enjoy playing with toys targeted at the opposite gender. In 2015, Target removed the “girls” and “boys” labels from their toy and bedding departments. The same year, Disney banished gender-specific labels from its children’s costumes, inviting girls to dress as Captain America and boys as Belle. In 2018, Mattel did away with “girls” and “boys” divisions in favor of non-gendered sections, such as dolls or cars (Dockterman, Bakalar and Tsai, 2019). Removing the gender labels bodes very well for kids because they will see that the type of toy they enjoy the most is not confined to gender, but by the satisfaction they get out of playing with it. Toys should not get defined as if it is a girl or boy toy, since the vast majority of toys on the market get played equally by both genders. Instead, toys should get labeled based on what children could do with them, such as “free play” for dolls and action figures, and “put together” for items like Lego, K’nex and Thomas the Tank Engine track sets. Since the toys have no stereotypical label on them, the traditional gender stereotypes will not have a significant hit on them, and they are likely to grow up with a better perception of themselves. Children and adults who go by the traditional gender norms must take into consideration that there are kids who go against the stereotypes, for which no one can get prosecuted. Everyone must be accepting of kids who favor activities and interests of the other gender, since anyone who turns their ideas and aspirations down could take a hit on their self-determination and could revert to the old-school gender identifications.
To help children with the gender-barrier ideology, Mattel has a new toy on the market where both girls and boys are the targets, with nothing being geared toward one particular gender. On September 25, the toy company released a gender-neutral doll series, Creatable World, where each of the dolls’ features betray no obvious gender. The lips are not too full, the eyelashes are not too long and fluttery, the jaw is not too wide. There are no Barbie-like breasts or broad, Ken-like shoulders. Each doll in the series looks like a slender seven-year-old with short hair, but each comes with a wig of long, lustrous locks and a wardrobe befitting any fashion-conscious kid: hoodies, sneakers, graphic T-shirts in soothing greens and yellows, along with tutus and camo pants. The first promotion for the $29.99 doll featured the slogan “A doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in.” (Dockterman, Bakalar and Tsai, 2019) Having the Creatable World dolls are an outstanding creation because it gives girls and boys a chance to play with a toy that features no gender stereotypes, so they can have none of those images going through their minds and affecting their perceptions. Many of the popular dolls and action figures of the past and present showcase the traditional gender stereotypes within their presentation, but the Creatable World dolls are on the right path to a breakthrough to eliminate stereotypes in the toys with which kids play. Since the dolls have a long list of accessories, including hair and clothing, the child can decide whether it to make it a girl or boy, and they can even design the doll however they want it to be (i.e., sporty, feminine). Creatable World is one of the best toy designs to come on the market because there are no stereotypes in the dolls for kids to pick up, so their playtime habits will not take a huge hit on the traditional views of gender. With the success of the gender-neutral dolls, one can only hope that the same practice can be used in more dolls and action figures creations in the future. Creating more dolls like the Creatable World ones will continue to lessen the stereotypical presence for children, or another approach would be to have Barbie get her chest size dropped or minimize G.I. Joe’s buff body. As long as we can remove any features that will not distort children’s perceptions of gender, each generation going forward will be in good spirits.
Conclusion: The Need for a Higher Female Presence
The central reason why we see excessive gender stereotypes in our media consumption is due to how minimal the female presence is behind the shows and films that get written and produced. Since there are more men that create the content, they tend to think of ways that men would appreciate the material, so they have more men who are over-masculine and women who are over-sexualized to build up their pleasures. Why we have so many of those awful stereotypes hurting many people’s minds, is due to the low amount of women providing a female voice into the structure and flow of shows and films. For instance, the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film notes that out of the top 100 grossing films in 2018, women represented four percent of directors, 15 percent of writers, 18 percent of producers and executive producers, and 14 percent of editors. Across those 100 films, women led or co-led 40 of the films. Meanwhile, for TV, women fared slightly better, but not good enough to reach an equilibrium. During the 2018-19 TV season, women represented 40 percent of producers, 35 percent of writers, 30 percent of executive producers, 26 percent of directors and 21 percent of editors. Although the numbers for women behind the scenes on TV were higher, women comprised 44 percent of major characters on broadcast shows (45 percent on cable and streaming programs), 66 percent of female characters had identifiable occupations, but 44 percent of females were seen actively working, and female characters were more likely to play personal life-oriented roles, such as a wife and mother. Fifty-three percent of female characters held such roles, compared to 39 percent of male characters. In contrast, male characters were more likely than females to play work-oriented roles, such as business executive.
To reduce or eliminate all negative media representations of gender, there needs to be a stronger female presence when deciding how shows and films will get designed. With a mostly male line of producers and writers, the content goes by how male perceive gender. However, when you add female producers and writers, the stereotypes go out the window, and more truthful representations get added. Since our society tends to see women as the less dominant gender, any female producer and writer will do everything they can to make sure that the representations showcase women as capable and intellectual, rather than as a sex object or a pleasure for men. Having women portrayed as a positive influence on society will make girls see her as a role model, and wanting to be like her when she is older. Even if a woman works in a male-dominated field (i.e., journalism, business), a girl is allowed to hold aspirations of working in the same field, too. For example, the journalism business has had a history of being a male-dominated profession, but over the years, more and more women are working as anchors and reporters. In the 1960s and 1970s, journalism employers were hesitant of hiring women because they were worried they produce the same work quality as men. Former Boston news anchor Natalie Jacobs defied the odds and was an outstanding anchor, reporter and journalist, and helped to inspire women to work in the business and show their male counterparts that they can be as successful as them.
As far as men are concerned, they already are portrayed as successful. Aside from success, men tend to get portrayed as lazy and aggressive, and view women as sex objects and oversee their true human characteristics. Boys must not have those messages stuffed in their face, since they do not want others to view them based on negative qualities. With the help of the female producers and writers, they can design men as productive and gentle, and view women for their true human qualities and what they bring to the table with their job title. Although we have had an emergence of female producers and writers in popular shows and films, we still need more to improve the gender-neutral persona with the characters, and to make significant changes to the ways we see gender. Children should not have to view negative gender representations because of how much it can distort their views of the ways they see each gender. Having positive gender representations will give kids the ideology that they can be successful in whatever they do, and no one can stop them from fulfilling their hopes and dreams. To make that goal a reality, female and male producers and writers must collaborate to develop quality films and shows that do not use traditional gender stereotypes, and revert to the ideal gender perceptions that make women get seen as successful and men as understanding and helpful. If we can successfully emphasis that ideology to children, all girls and boys will live successful, stereotype-free lives and have nothing for which to compete among their peers. Making that happen will not occur overnight, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for gender-neutrality to be a central core of our society’s beliefs.
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