Evaluating TV and Toys for Aggressive, and Gender-Typed Content

For this assignment I watched several cartoons, and some sitcoms.  I also paid attention to the messages in the commercials that were in between the episodes.  I didn’t think I would be surprised by my findings on this assignment, because I am always bothered by the connotations on television.  To my surprise, I did find many things, which were not appropriate.  I also visited a toy store and the strong stereotypes there were outrageous.  In my paper I will discuss the connotations I viewed on television, and the gender stereotyping I found at Toys-R-Us.

Aggression is already present in many children.  They begin to express this aggression toward siblings and peers.  Since we know their potential for aggressive outbursts, we need to pay close attention to what our children are seeing and hearing in the media.  Our text explains an increase in violent content on TV.  Presently there has been a rise in violence in educational programming, and cartoons are more violent now than ever.  I found this to be true when I viewed some child directed programs.  I watched a cartoon called “Maya and Miguel,” this is a fairly new cartoon on PBS that is sponsored by the ‘No Child Left Behind Act.’  I assumed by the programs sponsorship that it was considered educational programming.  I didn’t find much education to this cartoon at all.  There were some English and Spanish language translations, but the story line was contradicting.  It consisted of a brother and sister uncovering a hidden secret about the town Baker.  He was a past Pro-Wrestler in disguise.  To solve this mystery the children found his rival, and prepared them to meet.  When the Baker started to wrestle, the children knew they were right.  I also watched the popular cartoon ‘Arthur.’  I was impressed by their portrayal of both genders.  Francine is very athletic and intelligent.  In this episode both boys and girls are in a choir and sing with robes on. Arthur was giving viewers the impression that girls can be athletic and academic, and boys and girls can be in the same clubs and enjoy them.  Though evening programs are not directed toward children, they often end up seeing them.  The text describes preschool children imitating what they see on television.  One of the reasons they do this is because they cannot yet distinguish between real life, and the fantasy.  I hoped that no child was viewing the show I did.  The hit series ‘The OC” is very popular with teenagers.  The episode I saw, showed two teenage boys in a fistfight.  One of the boys was upset because the other had kissed his girlfriend.  I also viewed a family show called “Every body loves Raymond” this is my favorite show, but there was so much yelling and screaming.  The daughter-in-law was upset with the mother, so she just went right in her face and yelled at her until she had no energy left.  After the mother left, the two daughters came up with a secret plot to get back at the mother.  According to the text, the images I viewed can create problems for children with their parents and peers, because they are more likely to resort hostilely in a confrontation.  The toys at Toys-R-Us also conveyed aggressive play.  All of the aggressive play toys I found were located in the boy’s section.  There were toy guns of all sorts.  There were good guys and bad guys.  There were big punching gloves, and big slip on macho boots.  These toys encourage aggressive play by their advertising on the boxes the toys come in.  When boys are playing with these toys they fight with them, because they come with weapons and army gear.

Gender stereotyping was clearly evident on the television and in the toy store.  According to the gender schema theory in our text, children process information about their world that tells them what is right and what is wrong for their gender. The text also states that children tune into gender differences and stereotypes at a very young age.  After reading the text, I was even more distraught when visiting the toy store and watching TV.  Toys-R-Us clearly has a girl’s section and a boy’s section.  These sections appear to be identified by their colors and advertisements.  In the girls sections you will find a lot of pink and purple.  Most of the toys, in this section, had pictures of little Caucasian girls who were playing with the toy on the box.  The boy section featured blues, greens, and reds.  There were photos of boys who were playing sports, and using water guns that identified the gender of this section.  When I watched the cartoon Maya and Miguel, I noticed that Maya wore lipstick, earrings, and pink clothes.  Miguel wore a blue t-shirt with jeans, and his little brother ran around with his shirt off.  I was also alerted when I viewed a couple sitcoms on TV that portrayed the women cooking food for the men, cleaning up after the men, and caring for the children.  I related this to the text that talked about children during free play.  Children usually portray girls as taking care of babies, and boys as being police officers.  The text states how difficult it is for preschoolers to understand that boys and girls can be different by their bodies, but they can be similar in many other ways.  According to my findings at the toy store, girls can pick from being; mommies, dancers, house cleaners, and princesses.  Boys have the option of being; army men, super hero’s, mechanics, athletes, or construction workers. 

I would like to end my paper by talking about what I’ve learned.  I have nieces and nephews that I go shopping with and watch TV with.  I never realized how careful I should be about what they watch on TV and what I buy them.  When I take them shopping at Toys-R-Us, I will take them to both sections and let them know it is ok to want to play with any of the toys in the store.  While watching television, I will be sure to explain to them that in real life there are several daddies who clean and cook, and there are several mommies who like working on cars and playing sports.  Children should get the chance to choose what they like and admire.  With our media and society they feel like they have to fit into the girl/boy category of clothing, entertainment, and hobbies.  If they don’t fit into these categories, they may face ridicule.  We need to be sensitive to the interests of our children and help them grow into who they are meant to be, not who society tells them to be.