Don't kill the ogre!

Despite all the negatives about women in media, we do have one ray of hope. Mike Meyers has starred in many great movies, but the most touching one as yet, is his story of Shrek. Although Shrek himself is not a female character, at least his love interest is, and a beautiful one at that. With all the typical trappings of Disney, Meyers plunged forth into the realm of "happily ever after" and ended up with a blockbuster. With lovable crude humor for the men, there's reality for the women. We, like Princess Fiona, hide behind our beauty because we think that's all anyone wants to see. In the end - if you haven't seen it stop reading - Fiona chooses to live her "dark" secret; she chooses happiness in the end - she chooses to live as an ogre.
We may finally have something to look forward to. We'll have to see how Meyers plays out the gender roles and parental responsibilities in the 3rd movie. I hope he stays on the right track.

Princess Fiona as Ogre. 8 May 2007 <http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/d/db/Princess_Fiona.jpg>.

Princess Fiona as Human. 8 May 2007 <http://f.screensavers.com/migration/wp/shrek04_215.gif>.

Always the Minority

The Smurfs. 8 May 2007 <http://scnc.sps.k12.mi.us/~murphym/the%20smurfs.jpg>.

Why is it that women are always seen in the minority in shows. Even in popular shows like the Smurfs, there was only one lone female. Think about it: April in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Piggy in Muppet Babies; Kanga in Winnie the Pooh. These examples, as stated by Katha Pollitt, illustrates what she terms the "Smurfette Principle." This only helps to reinforce the already dominate sense that males are the norm, females are the deviant.
Kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for, and they pick up on these hints. Young girls realize there's no one like themselves to idolize, look up to, want to be like. And why would they? Any representation of their sex that they see are weak women who rely on men, or are women who aren't there at all!
When will media get the big picture and include us?

Pollitt, Katha. "The Smurfette Principle." Reading Women's Lives. Comp. Molly Kerby. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2005. 49-53.

Be Our Guest

Put our service to the test, madam. We are here to serve you, since you obviously can't do anything on your own except look good.
Without Beauty, there'd be no movie. Who cares about the Beast really (but even he turns beautiful in the end)? If the roles were reversed and he were teh Beauty and she an ugly hag, well, it's hard to imagine that simply because women are not meant to be ugly, it's not acceptable and they can never be loved as such. Men on the other hand, well, they are perfect any way they come, right ladies?
Disney is fixated on this principal that "heroines" - those girls who just get rescued by a prince - must be beautiful, no matter what status of life they live or what they do on an average basis. They never outcome poverty, find the cure for AIDS, or even punch the evil witch; they all just run away, hands in the air, and hope that their Prince will save them.
Belle was a little different, just because she seemed to have some sense of a brain, but overall, she fit the model just fine.
As soon as a good movie - and by good, I mean a man waiting and wishing for his princess charming to come along and save him from his evil step-father/witch/blah blah blah - comes out, give me a call.

Vamanos!

Ahh, Dora the Explorer, what an adorable rough and tumble, ready to go girl looking for adventure! Too bad her show didn't really take off until her cousin Diego showed up. Why is that? Why do we as a society feel the need to fixate on male characters and make them the focus of everything. Women hardly ever play a main character in a children's show. Maybe this is just because of our indoctrinated sense of male = good, female = bad. So, we try to instill this in children as soon as possible. Girl characters = weak, male characters = strong. As parents, we may buy more male character toys for boys, female character toys for girls, but we still encourage all kids to watch male centered shows, and we rarely show interest ourselves for shows with strong female characters. Perhaps we can work on this, or at least try to encourage kids toward more gender equal tv viewing.

Missed a Spot...

Hey there, Cinderella, you missed a spot. Yeah, right there. It's just where my heart fell on the floor - no big deal.
So, the typical Disney story, right? A woman, in one of the most dire situations, is finally rescued from her woe by a fairy godmother who bestows upon her beautiful clothes, a carriage, and attendents. This is the only way that she mets Prince Charming, who eventually rescues her again with a magical slipper that will only fit Cinderella's foot. Perhaps it's not what Cinderella does that crawls under my skin, but what she doesn't do.
Take this story for example:

At the grocery store one day, my daughter noticed a little girl sporting a Cinderella backpack. “There’s that princess you don’t like, Mama!” she shouted.
“Um, yeah,” I said, trying not to meet the other mother’s hostile gaze.
“Don’t you like her blue dress, Mama?”
I had to admit, I did.
She thought about this. “Then don’t you like her face?”
“Her face is all right,” I said, noncommittally, though I’m not thrilled to have my Japanese-Jewish child in thrall to those Aryan features. (And what the heck are those blue things covering her ears?) “It’s just, honey, Cinderella doesn’t really do anything.”

She just doesn't really do anything. She's not teaching us to be strong women by rebelling against unjust people, she just allows us to go on believing that if we're "good" girls, do what we're told, and just wait, a fairy godmother will drop out of the sky and a wonderful prince will just whisk us away from all that causes us tears.
Why couldn't the movie focus on the only strong woman in that movie - the "evil" step-mother. Yes, I said it. The antagonist is really the protagonist for us women. Think about it - she lives by herself, is ultimately responsible for herself, her two daughters, Cinderella, the house, and who knows what else? She's independent and that's what's really scary.

Orenstein, Peggy. "What's Wrong with Cinderella?" The New York Times 24 Dec. 2006. 8 May 2007 <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24princess.t.html?ei=5088&en=8e5a1ac1332a802c&ex=1324616400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all>.

The Jetsons. 7 May 2007 < http://www.uncleodiescollectibles.com/img_lib/Jetsons%20Collectibles%20104%207-12-5.jpg >.

Ahhh, the Jetsons. So full of new and innovative technology. And yet, I always feel uncomfortable with the character of Rosie. You know, the robot. Yeah. I know you remember her. Well, I'm sure you also remember that she's a maid. As a child, I never comtemplated this role designation, but now it seems like these cartoonist were just adding insult to injury. This seems to send the message that no matter how advanced our society becomes, "women" will still have the typical roles of maids to cook, clean, and be at a family's beck and call.
I really don't think I expect too much. You would think that if the Jetsons had all those cool gadjets and such, they would have no need for robots. And even if they needed robots, why would they assign them a gender? In this underhanded way, society is still saying, "try all you want, but women - whether human or robot or whatever - will still be the ones responsible for the housekeeping." So much for a bright future.

We just figured out...

Well, I thought I had figured out Blue's Clues. Up until last Wednesday, I thought Blue was a boy puppy. Apparently, I've been wrong ever since the show was created - Blue is really a girl puppy.* Now, I'm not stupid, and seeing how dogs don't really talk - even though salt and pepper shakers do - I'm hard pressed to find any clues indicating the Blue is anything other than a boy dog. I mean, she's blue, the stereotypical color for boys. Other than that, I supposed she's pretty androgynous, so her sex isn't really an important factor in the show.
Although I applaud the color switch so that she's not pink, I really don't think that little girls or boys get the switch. If she was pink, could she really be smart enough to help Steve solve those wicked puzzles with just three measly clues? I think Nick Jr. took a helpful hint from Velma and didn't make the girl so nerdy, they just made her look like a boy.

"Blue Clue's History." CharacterProducts.Com. 5 May 2007 <http://www.characterproducts.com/info/character_histories/blue_doorway.htm>.

Where are you?

Ahh, Scooby Doo. And Shaggy too. Don't forget those babes Daphne and Freddy - who were destined to hook up in the back of the Mystery Machine. It seems like there's one more.... Oh yeah, the dyke - what was her name.... hmmmm..... Velma that's it!
So, ok, I don't really think Velma was a lesbian, but is there any better way to say "not appealing to men"? Some say there is not much evidence that Velma is a lesbian. Dorr et al. offer that in hundreds of episodes "Velma never had even one romantic interest".*
However, whether she's a lesbian or not isn't really the main focus of this post. It's a realization - nerds don't get men. If you're brainy, have glasses, wear semi-baggy sweatshirts and do all the grunt work for the rest of the gang, it'll only get you a "good job!" You don't get the hunky Freddy, who - by the way - always wants to split up the group and team up with the hottie Daphne, with her short skirt outfit, always perfect hair (no bowl cut here, Velmas), and impeccable legs.
Tough, huh? Well, welcome to tv, ladies. Here again we see that brains - as well as a voice - will get you no where in our society. Not even in a society where you're surrounded by bad guys!

An article poking fun at Jerry Falwell, indicated reasons why Velma is a lesbian (just like good ol' Jerry indicated that Tinky Winky is gay). The author says: "Velma (of Scooby Doo)Evidence: Always tries to sit next to Daphne in the Mystery Machine. Sports that butch haircut. Has broad shoulders and wears thick turtleneck-sweaters and knee socks. Never once shagged Shaggy." (Broydo, Leora. "Merrie Melodies or Just Gay 'Toons?" Mother Jones 16 Feb. 1999. 2 May 2007 http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/1999/02/loonytoons.html.)

*Jackson, Joab. "Scooby Doo: Icon of a Generation?" MetroActive. 14 Aug. 1997. Sonoma County Independent. 5 May 2007 <http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/08.14.97/scoobie-9733.html>.

The Little Mermaid

I won't lie: The Little Mermaid was one of my favorite movies. I had a mermaid barbie, and my mom and I always jammed out to the soundtrack in the car. But what did I learn from this movie? Despite the "feel good" message of "being a good girl and winning a prince" I also got the message that the only way to be a good girl is to lose your voice, attract a man through good looks, and be an obedient adolescent.
"What?!?" you say. Well, take a look at what transpires between Ursula and Ariel as they make a deal to change Ariel into a human:

"( [Ursula:] Have we got a deal?
[Ariel:] If I become human, I'll never be with my father or
sisters again.
[Ursula:] But you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices,
innit?
Oh - and there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the
subject of payment.
[Ariel:] But I don't have any -
[Ursula:] I'm not asking much. Just a token, really, a trifle.
What I want
from you is . . . your voice.
[Ariel:] But without my voice, how can I -
[Ursula:] You'll have your looks! Your pretty face! And don't
underestimate
the importance of body language! Ha! )

The men up there don't like a lot of blabber
They think a girl who gossips is a bore
Yes, on land it's much preferred
For ladies not to say a word
And after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?

Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man"

Now, as a child, I never realized what these lyrics truly meant, I just thought that the witch was an evil. no good villain. But as an adult, I see the error of my ways. The message is clear without all the bright colors and neat music. Women are meant to be seen, not heard. If you're heard, you'll lose your man because he doesn't want to hear what you have to say anyway.
So, this is the message I was being taught through a wonderful movie about "true love." Funny, huh? A movie that was supposed to inspire me, was really teaching me to be quiet and really forget that I had any type of intellect at all.

Carroll, Pat, and Jodi Benson. "Poor Unfortunate Souls Lyrics." 5 May 2007 <http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thelittlemermaid/poorunfortunatesouls.htm>.

Introduction

As women, we rarely have strong roles models in the media. More importantly, we have even less role models while we are growing up. As a child in this media hungry society we were born into, we often find ourselves propped in front of the tv where we become absorbed into someone else's life. This blog questions why children do not have many women role models in cartoons and what messages are being sent to young girls who do see women in cartoons.