Gendered Assumptions in Disney Channel Shows

Authors' Affiliations

Ashton Reed and Natalie Duncan, Department of Communication Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN.

Location

D.P. Culp Center Ballroom

Start Date

4-5-2024 9:00 AM

End Date

4-5-2024 11:30 AM

Poster Number

184

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

C. Wesley Buerkle

Faculty Sponsor's Department

Communication Studies and Storytelling

Classification of First Author

Undergraduate Student

Competition Type

Competitive

Type

Poster Presentation

Presentation Category

Art and Humanities

Abstract or Artist's Statement

Since it was founded in 1983, Disney Channel has been an integral form of entertainment and social education for children and teens as they grow and learn about the world. Many of the shows take place in a home setting with a family set of characters, following specific formulas that resemble the classic domestic sitcom formula first seen in the 1950s. The homes and families presented are mostly white and middle-class with a nuclear family structure and two heterosexual parents who divide domestic duties (i.e., parenting and housework) along traditional lines. Following this pattern utilizes certain gender roles and assumptions in the creation of characters and plotlines and, thus, has the power to shape how children create their schemas around gender and family structure. This analysis, then, seeks to understand how several Disney Channel shows both rely on and oppose gender stereotypes and, therefore, how viewing those shows might cultivate certain ideas for kids about how they should perform their gender and what families “should” look like. We used Fantasy Theme Analysis with an ideological criticism to identify recurring patterns within these shows and study the subliminal messages of these themes through the lens of feminist criticism. Through an inflected (oppositional) reading position, we identified three overarching categories of shows based on their representation of gender and race. The first includes shows with the traditional representation of families presented in classic domestic sitcoms, though they differ in the way both parents typically work. Some storylines break gender stereotypes, but ultimately the shows demonstrate that family members are expected to have certain roles within the home in order to perform their gender correctly. The second category includes the shows with blended families, which create more images of diversity within families but still rely on gender stereotypes to characterize the children and their personalities. The third and final category is that of the families who are ethnically different from the traditional white families typically found in domestic sitcoms. These shows provide representation which opposes the idea that only white families can have the “ideal” life sitcoms typically portray, and they counter various gender stereotypes even as they utilize a nuclear family structure. Our results determine that Disney shows do demonstrate an adherence to gendered assumptions, which could have an impact on children’s’ schemas of gender roles as they learn about the world.

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Apr 5th, 9:00 AM Apr 5th, 11:30 AM

Gendered Assumptions in Disney Channel Shows

D.P. Culp Center Ballroom

Since it was founded in 1983, Disney Channel has been an integral form of entertainment and social education for children and teens as they grow and learn about the world. Many of the shows take place in a home setting with a family set of characters, following specific formulas that resemble the classic domestic sitcom formula first seen in the 1950s. The homes and families presented are mostly white and middle-class with a nuclear family structure and two heterosexual parents who divide domestic duties (i.e., parenting and housework) along traditional lines. Following this pattern utilizes certain gender roles and assumptions in the creation of characters and plotlines and, thus, has the power to shape how children create their schemas around gender and family structure. This analysis, then, seeks to understand how several Disney Channel shows both rely on and oppose gender stereotypes and, therefore, how viewing those shows might cultivate certain ideas for kids about how they should perform their gender and what families “should” look like. We used Fantasy Theme Analysis with an ideological criticism to identify recurring patterns within these shows and study the subliminal messages of these themes through the lens of feminist criticism. Through an inflected (oppositional) reading position, we identified three overarching categories of shows based on their representation of gender and race. The first includes shows with the traditional representation of families presented in classic domestic sitcoms, though they differ in the way both parents typically work. Some storylines break gender stereotypes, but ultimately the shows demonstrate that family members are expected to have certain roles within the home in order to perform their gender correctly. The second category includes the shows with blended families, which create more images of diversity within families but still rely on gender stereotypes to characterize the children and their personalities. The third and final category is that of the families who are ethnically different from the traditional white families typically found in domestic sitcoms. These shows provide representation which opposes the idea that only white families can have the “ideal” life sitcoms typically portray, and they counter various gender stereotypes even as they utilize a nuclear family structure. Our results determine that Disney shows do demonstrate an adherence to gendered assumptions, which could have an impact on children’s’ schemas of gender roles as they learn about the world.