Gender Stereotypes and the Disney Channel Problems

Media and Gender Stereotypes
Most adults are aware of how influential the media is on children, a notion that is intimidating in today’s world, as currently children have access to numerous types of media. With this massive availability of media, school-aged children are still predominantly impacted by television, watching it around three hours a day (Hentges & Case, 2013). This represents a massive power of the almighty television and puts increased pressure on parents to regulate what is and is not appropriate for them to be exposed to. This is more than just things like sex or violence, but also refers to subtler forces within media that can influence their minds and development—such as representations of gender. How characters on television act, the things they say, and how they dress can be tremendously influential to children regarding what is and is not acceptable behavior for boys versus girls. This paper will examine two shows on the Disney channel: Liv and Maddie (2013-2017) and Austin and Ally (2011-2016) in terms of their portrayals of acceptable feminine versus acceptable masculine behavior. Most notably this paper will attempt to determine if any of the characters were portrayed in gender-stereotyped roles.
The show Liv and Maddie features a show about identical twins (played by one actress, Dove Cameron). Liv is an actress who has moved back to her home town after starring on television series in Los Angeles for several years, and Maddie is her twin who stayed in the hometown, living a more normal life. Episode 13 from season one was watched (“Move a Rooney”). One could argue that this is a show that does not rely heavily on gender stereotypes as the female characters engage in the bulk of the action and in all the exciting plot activities. It is a show about two female characters and so they dominate the action and essentially run things, directing the direction of the plot. However, things become a bit murkier when it comes to the subtleties of gender representation on the show. Both characters are dressed in very feminine ways, almost like little dolls. Liv, the character who is essentially a young Hollywood starlet, is dressed super-feminine with long curls put throughout out her hair, pretty or sometimes even borderline sexy dresses, and a slightly more air-heady way of speaking. Her appearance is in keeping with the Disney stereotype of making their female leads “pretty as a princess” (Coyne & Linder, 2016). Liv often has a heightened focus on boys and all factors that connect to more romantic interests and issues on the show. Maddie is the sister who at times is dressed down, sometimes looking more masculine, but often just wearing the pants-equivalent of Liv’s outfit. She wears glasses and is portrayed as intelligent, though this can create a troublesome stereotype that suggests girls who do not wear glasses are not smart.
In the episode watched, Liv’s opening lines in the first scene concerned whether or not her sister was aware that a supporting character on the show actually liked her (and how excited she was that he lent her his jacket). The lending of the jacket from a handsome supporting male character to Maddie, one of the leads, happened within the first few minutes of the show. While this does constitute a “helping behavior” and one could argue that it’s good to see men engaging in helping behaviors on TV, as it is traditionally something ascribed to women, this is still a very gendered action. Women don’t really have the ability to return the favor to men when men are cold. The problem with this episode in regards to gender stereotypes is that the episode opens with two young women discussing a male character. It sends the wrong message about the importance of young men and what young women “should” be talking about. Furthermore, later in the episode we meet Joey Rooney, the presumed brother of the twins. He’s highly engaged in the rocketry club, a club that consists of mostly male members (and one girl). That already is problematic as it sends the message that STEM-activities and subjects are perhaps more appropriate for young men. This is highly, highly disturbing. Furthermore, we soon discover that Joey has a semi-aggressive rivalry with another rocket enthusiast (male) named Artie. The juxtaposition in this case is clear: the girls on the show discuss boys, and the boys on the show discuss rockets.
The Disney channel show Austin and Ally was also discussed. It is a music centered show about an extroverted, social and gregarious musician named Austin Moon, and the introverted and sometimes tongue-tied songwriter Ally Dawson. The characterization of the two leads is already problematic. It is a troubling gender stereotype that male characters are extroverted, engaging and social fearless and that their female counterparts are meek, shy and more comfortable in the background. The episode watched was Season 4 episode 5, “Homework and Hidden Talents.” One can see problems in the episode from the beginning. The episode opens with Austin and one of the male supporting characters, Dez, engaging in a “game” where they shake up a can of soda and then mix it around with several cans of sodas. While this might not sound like a gender-related stereotype, it actually is and it arises on television frequently. Male characters (of all ages) are often portrayed engaged in funny or zany endeavors or games. The female characters set back and just comment on the action. Male characters are established as the funny ones, and female characters are the ones who simply observe this comedy. Occasionally, the writers of the show will try to recreate the funny or zany humor with their female characters, but often it just comes through as airheadedness or boy-crazy-ness. Another problem in regards to gender behavior and related stereotypes occurs immediately when the supporting character Trish walks in and exclaims that she needs help because she’s doing a book report and doesn’t want to read the book. Dez offers to help her by making a video of the book with her. While all of this might seem innocuous, it creates a problematic scenario: the male character needs to help the female character with her homework.
In conclusion, many of the concerns that Hentges and Case express about gender representation on these shows are valid and are still gaping chasms of problems even today. “How male and female characters behave, whether they act stereotypically masculine or feminine, conveys information about male and female behaviors. While research indicates that while gender stereotyping may be decreasing (Aubrey & Harrison, 2004; Thompson & Zerbinos, 1997), males on television display more stereotypically masculine behaviors, for example displaying higher levels of physical aggression (Luther & Legg, 2010; Signorielli et al., 1995), and female characters display more stereotypically feminine behaviors…” (Hentges & Case, 2013). The research conducted here demonstrates that there are subtler more invasive ways in which gender stereotypes are being perpetuated and fed to children. These stereotypes give children toxic lessons about what is expected and acceptable regarding male versus female behavior. It models problematic themes about males and females regarding their appearance, the things they should think and talk about, what their interests are and which gender should be helping the other. If this study has done anything, it’s demonstrated the subtleties of gender stereotyping and how parents need to be very vocal and proactive about screening content for their young children.





















References
Coyne, S. M., Linder, J. R., Rasmussen, E. E., Nelson, D. A., & Birkbeck, V. (2016). Pretty as a princess: Longitudinal effects of engagement with Disney princesses on gender stereotypes, body esteem, and prosocial behavior in children. Child development, 87(6), 1909-1925.
Hentges, B., & Case, K. (2013). Gender representations on Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon broadcasts in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 7(3), 319-333.