People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of Foreign Languages Division of English University of Biskra The Inappropriateness of Deviant Gender Role Portrayals in the American Cartoon "The Simpsons (1989)" A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Foreign Languages in Partial Fulfillment for the requirement of the Master Degree in English language: Literature and Civilization Submitted by: DJABALLAH Sirine Ayat Errahmane Board of Examiners: Chairperson: Mr. SMATI Said (MAB) University of Biskra Supervisor: Mrs. ZERIGUI Naima (MAB) University of Biskra Examiner: Mrs. AMRI-CHENINI Bouthaina (MAA) University of Biskra Academic Year: 2019/2020 Dedication This work is dedicated: First, to myself and to my journey of growth To those who believed in me To my dear father for his endless love and support To my beloved mother, the source of my life, the hand of mercy, my fountain of love and inspiration To my lovely sisters: Nadine, Sherine, and Yasmine To My dear friends: BELOUAFI Amal, MESSEI Hadjer, Sarah Briki, BOUGHRARA Roufaida, and BOUZOUAID Khadija. Most importantly, I dedicate my work to those who did not believe in me I Acknowledgements To reach the end of this journey, I praise ALLAH, The Most Beneficent, and The Most Merciful. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Mrs. ZERIGUI Naima for her guidance and advice. I was lucky to have her not only as my supervisor, but also as my teacher of British Civilization where her efforts and teaching methods have been of great merit in expanding my knowledge in this field. I must express my gratitude to the board of examiners for reading and evaluating my work. I am thankful for Mrs. AMRI-CHENINI Bouthaina for provoding me with some of the important references that were so helpful in the process of research. I would like to thank Mr. SMATI for his efforts. I am especially thankful for Mr. BEN ABDELRREZAK Abdelnacer for his efforts and support. I am also grateful to all my teachers at Mohamed Kheider University, in particular Mr. BOULEGROUNE Adel. II Abstract The present work is conducted to study the deviant gender role portrayals in the American cartoon "The Simpsons". This cartoon is airing on Fox channel since 1989 with over than 30 seasons, and exceeding 600 episodes. This reflects its popularity including even children because of its appealing slapstick comedy. Its significant engagements in the politics of sexuality and gender identity instigate to question the effects of the show's unusual gender role representations in the social and psychological development of children. The study is inspired by developmental theories in sociology and psychology. It draws on the assumption of the child's socialization process of cognitive and psychosexual development, of which the child develops his/her gender identity. The study espouses an eclectic approach, as Piaget's Cognitive Development theory attempts to demonstrate the child's social identification process to conform to the social norms including gender role. Freud's Psychoanalysis theory and his psychosexual stages account to reflect the process of internalizing gender with children. Also, queer theory is applied to examine the way these portrayals are displayed. Therefore, this study explicates the potential implications of the inappropriateness of queer gender role representations in cartoons on the child's social and psychological development. It aims to emphasize on the role of parents to protect their children from this ideological exploitation. Keywords: children, gender role, queer, sexuality, social and psychological development, The Simpsons cartoon. III List of Acronyms UNICEF: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. FSM: Free Speech Movement. SDC: Students for Democratic Society. VVAW: The Vietnam Veterans Against the War Organization. KKK: The Ku Klux Klan COINTELPRO: The Counter Intelligence Program. FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation. CIA: Central Intelligence Agency. LSD: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. APA: The American Psychological Association. AIDs: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus. LGBT: Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trangenders. LPGA: Ladies Professional Golf Association. DSM: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. IV Contents Dedication ...................................................................................................................... I Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... II Abstract ........................................................................................................................ III List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................... IV Contents ........................................................................................................................ V General Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Feminism.................................................................................................................. 8 1.2.1 The Three Waves of Feminism ......................................................................... 9 1.2.1.1 First Wave of Feminism ............................................................................. 9 1.2.1.2 The Second Wave of Feminism................................................................ 10 1.2.1.3 The Third Wave of Feminism .................................................................. 10 1.3 Gender vs. Sex ....................................................................................................... 11 1.3.1 Gender Performativity Theory ........................................................................ 13 1.4 Queer Theory ......................................................................................................... 15 1.4.1 The Term Queer .............................................................................................. 17 1.4.2 Coming Out of the Closet ............................................................................... 17 1.5 The Concept of Agency ......................................................................................... 18 1.6 Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory ............................................................... 18 1.6.1 Piaget's Four Stages of Cognitive Development ............................................. 19 1.7 Psychoanalysis theory ............................................................................................ 20 1.7.1 ID, Ego, and Superego .................................................................................... 21 1.7.2 The psychosexual stages ................................................................................. 22 1.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 23 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 28 2.2 The term Counterculture ........................................................................................ 28 V 2.3 The 1960s Counterculture Movement ................................................................... 29 2.3.1 The Boom Generation ..................................................................................... 30 2.3.2 The Generation Gap ........................................................................................ 30 2.3.3 The Antiwar Movement and the African-Americans' Civil Rights Movement31 2.3.4 Hippies Movement .......................................................................................... 33 2.3.5 Women Liberation Movement ........................................................................ 35 2.3.6 Gay Liberation Movement .............................................................................. 36 2.3.7 Queer Cinema .................................................................................................. 39 2.4 An Overview about "The Simpsons Cartoon" ....................................................... 41 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 43 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 48 3.2 The Simpsons Analysis .......................................................................................... 48 3.3 The Importance of the Socialization Process ......................................................... 60 3.4 The Effect of Queer Representations on Children' Social and Psychological Development ...................................................................................................................................... 64 3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 67 General Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 70 Work Cited ..................................................................................................................