Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2004 Who Saves the Animated World?: the Sex-Role Stereotyping of Superheroes and Superheroines in Children's Animated Programs Kaysee Anne Baker Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION Who Saves the Animated World? The Sex-Role Stereotyping of Superheroes and Superheroines in Children’s Animated Programs By Kaysee Baker A Thesis submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2004 The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Kaysee A. Baker defended on March 24, 2004. ______________________________ Arthur A. Raney Professor Directing Thesis ______________________________ Laura M. Arpan Committee Member ______________________________ Donnalyn Pompper Committee Member Approved: __________________________ Stephen D. McDowell, Chairperson, Department of Communication _________________________________ John K. Mayo, Dean, College of Communication The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................iv 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................1 2. METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................................18 3. RESULTS ........................................................................................................23 4. DISCUSSION...................................................................................................26 TABLES ................................................................................................................40 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................48 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................63 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................70 iii ABSTRACT This study investigates the stereotypic ways in which superheroes and superheroines are portrayed in children’s animated programs. Previous studies have concluded that both animated males and females are presented in traditional sex-role stereotypic ways. Therefore, it was expected that heroic characters would be portrayed similarly. Of the 61 programs recorded, 24 contained heroic characters resulting in 46 superheroes and 24 superheroines. Each character was evaluated on physical appearance, personality traits, physical behaviors, and communicative behaviors. T-tests indicated significant differences between males and females, with superheroines portrayed as more attractive, emotional, superficial, inquisitive, easily excited, and worried about appearance compared to their male counterparts. Superheroes were presented as muscular, tough, angry, and more likely to threaten others compared to females. The potential implications of presenting characters in sex-role stereotypic ways are explored. iv CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW Television is the primary storyteller for much of American society. It has been called one of the most common, constant, and vivid learning environments (Signorielli, 1990). For many years, researchers have been investigating the potential effects of television consumption on society, and specifically on children (Greenberg & Reeves, 1976; Zuckerman, Singer, & Singer, 1980). The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2004) reports children now spend about three to four hours a day with the television. Therefore, by the time they graduate high school, children will have spent more time watching television than in the classroom. Because of this heavy consumption, television has become an integral part of the socialization process for children. Through its simplistic ways of portraying life, it can teach children about people, places, power, and life. Instead of depicting characters in individualistic ways, television writers and producers rely on stereotypes when developing their characters. Specifically, males and females are portrayed in traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine ways, as defined by American culture. These stereotypical portrayals of both males and females permeate all media, in turn leading to an increased potential for instilling those stereotypes in viewers. Television’s stereotypic portrayals have been shown to influence individuals in their perceptions of sex-roles (Frueh & McGhee, 1975; Reeves & Greenberg, 1977), occupational roles (DeFleur & DeFleur, 1967; Pingree, 1978), race (Greenberg, 1972; Zuckerman, Singer, & Singer, 1980), body size (Harrison, 2000), and for children, how and what to play (Cobb, Stevens-Long, & Goldstein, 1982). This study focuses on the sex-role stereotypic depictions of superheroes and superheroines in children’s animated programs. Understanding the sex-role stereotypic portrayals of characters on television is important, because children look to models, especially on television, to learn how to look 1 and behave (Ruble, Balaban, & Cooper, 1982; Slaby & Frey, 1975). When characters are portrayed consistently as having sex-role specific behaviors and characteristics, children perceive those stereotypes as realistic. Sex-role stereotypes are potentially threatening to children because they define what it means to be male and female. They also limit the roles individuals feel they are permitted to play (Gunter & McAleer, 1990), and can cause negative self-images in viewers (Harrison, 2000). Some scholars argue that the sex-role stereotyping literature has been exhausted, especially when dealing with children’s programming. If that were the case, it would be assumed that television never changes, and that the programs aired during prior studies would be similar to those aired today. Arguing this is not the case, Signorielli (2001) calls for frequent content analyses. This, she states, is because in order to understand how viewers interpret messages, it is important to first understand what is being portrayed. It is only when we have information about the images to which people are exposed that we can start to assess their impact. Many content analyses investigating the prevalence of sex-role stereotypes in children’s animated programming have been conducted (Levinson, 1975; Sternglanz & Serbin, 1974; Streicher, 1974; Thompson & Zerbinos, 1995). These studies concluded that both male and female animated characters are presented in sex-role stereotypic ways. The focus of previous studies tended to be on either the main characters or all those who played a significant role in the plot of the program. This study, however, focuses on a specific type of character that is potentially threatening to the socialization process of children when presented in stereotypic ways: the superhero and superheroine. Superheroes and superheroines are potentially threatening to the socialization process of children because children are extremely susceptible to the messages and behaviors of heroes and heroines (Liss, Reinhardt, & Fredriksen, 1983). Other studies have concluded that children are also more likely to identify with heroic characters, in turn, indicating a greater likelihood that they will imitate the characters’ behaviors (Hoffner, 1996; Potter, 1997). The Media Awareness Network (2004) emphasizes the need for investigations into superheroes and superheroines because children are particularly drawn to these characters and enjoy acting out their stories. Therefore, if 2 animated superheroes and superheroines exhibit sex-role stereotypic behaviors and characteristics, there is a chance that young viewers will act and think similarly. Sex-Role Socialization through the Media Gender portrayals in the media, especially those which are sex-role specific, are cause for concern because of the importance of mass media in the socialization process for children (Signorielli, 1990). Socialization, the way people learn about their culture and acquire its values, beliefs, perspectives and social norms, is an ongoing social process; we are socialized and re-socialized throughout the life cycle (Signorielli, 2001). Traditionally, children were socialized by parents, peers, religious and educational institutions (Signorielli, 1990; 2001), however, many studies have shown mass media, especially television, play an important role in the socialization process for children today (Berry & Mitchell-Kerman, 1982; Davidson, Yasuna, & Tower, 1979; Levinson, 1975; Swan, 1998). Specifically, Gerbner and colleagues call television today a “centralized system of storytelling” and have noted “it has become the primary common source of socialization and everyday information (mostly in the form of entertainment) of otherwise heterogeneous populations” (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1994, p.18). Although television’s primary use is thought to be entertainment, it also functions as a source for information about the world. Children in particular use television as a window to the unknown world because of their limited exposure and experience with it. For many individuals, the majority of their information and news about the world comes from watching television (Gerbner,