Back in March, I posted about See Jane, an organization founded by Geena Davis to increase the percentages of female characters and reduce gender stereotyping in media made for children 11 and under. I was surprised to learn what disparity there was in gender roles, but also thrilled that someone was addressing the issue.

See Jane started by looking at movies for children. As part of their series on Gender Portrayals in G-Rated Movies, the organization released the first brief “Where the Girls Aren’t: Gender Disparity Saturates G-Rated Films” early in 2006. What an eye-opener that was. Here are some of my thoughts (from my March post):

Realizing how under-represented female characters are in what my sons watch was surprising and disturbing. I feel like I’ve made a fairly decent effort over the last several years to expose my older son to strong female characters – Dora the Explorer, Kim Possible, The Power Puff Girls, Mulan – but hearing the ratio of female to male characters in movies made me stop and think. In many of the books we read our son, there is a female main character, but she is often the sister of a male co-lead character as in the Magic Treeehouse books.

Disney has done a decent job of featuring strong female characters in a number of movies over the last several years – Mulan, Pocahantas, Lilo and Stitch, The Little Mermaid – however, they also have an enormous line of “Princess” merchandise geared toward little girls, which reinforces every gender role stereotype. My older son (now 6) thought Mulan was a great movie until a few months ago, when he noticed that the Mulan character was part of the Disney Princess squad (along with Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Pocahantas, Cinderella, Snow White, and others). What was once a family movie with a positive feminist role model is now considered a chick flick for the 6 to 12 set – all because of its main character’s new context as “princess.” In my view, Disney’s Princess line cancels out all the good they have done by developing these strong female leads. The Disney Princess Website greets new visitors with “Welcome, Princess!” and offers parenting tips in four categories – storytime tips, party tips, musical tips, and (hold on to your hat) beauty tips. Because we all know a good female role model would never go out without the proper makeup. Feh.

Recently, See Jane released the second brief in this series – “G Movies Give Boys a D: Portraying Males as Dominant, Disconnected, and Dangerous.” The research looked at the 101 top-grossing G-rated movies released from 1990 to 2004 (although, sadly, they didn’t publish a list of these movies), and turned up some interesting findings:

* Characters of color are most often sidekicks, comic relief, or villains. (Not surprising, but disturbing.)

* G-rated films show “few examples” of male characters who are husbands and/or fathers. (That actually was surprising.)

* Pre-schoolers are especially impressionable regarding gender roles, as this is the age when children have their “ideas of manhood and womanhood shaped and integrated into their own personalities.”

As the mother of two sons, I expected these findings to hit me harder. Maybe I wasn’t terribly surprised by any of it. Or maybe I’ve become desensitized from watching too many violent movies. Heh. In part, I guess I don’t pay as much attention to adult male characters in G movies as I do to the young male characters. And those young males (think Andy in Toy Story) just don’t seem very Disconnected, or Dangerous. I really don’t think my 6-year-old pays nearly as much attention to adult male characters as he does to child characters (of either gender) in movies.

Although this brief did not get as strong of a reaction from me as the earlier one, I am looking forward to the next two in the series on Gender Portrayals in G Movies – “Occupational Expectations for Girls and Boys” and “Body Image and Hyper-Sexuality.” Oh, I can hardly wait for that last one. I think I’ll personally deliver a copy of it to the makers of Braatz dolls.

See Jane is also releasing a separate study this fall on Gender Portrayals in TV for Children 11 and Under. You can bet your Kim Possible action figures that I will be discussing that here.

The research and advocacy work being done by See Jane is incredibly important to our children. Because what David Walsh (founder of National Institute on Media and the Family) said is so, so true: “Whoever tells the story defines the culture.” The stories being told in G-rated movies are defining the culture for our children. So to them, being a girl means being a Disney princess, and being a boy means being an action hero or adventurer or one who “saves” the girl/princess. Is that the culture in which we want our children to live?

I’m curious to hear from you. Who is “defining the culture” for your children? How are you addressing gender roles in kids’ media with your own children? I’m especially interested in hearing from those of you who have daughters….How does a feminist mom (or dad) respond to Disney princesses?

Keep an eye on what See Jane is doing. Get on their e-mail list. Show your support. Check out their recommendations for parents and children. As I’ve said, they are doing some important work and calling attention to things that all of us, as parents, should be aware of. Most importantly, they’re encouraging us to be active – not passive – in our consumption of media, and to think critically about what our children are hearing and seeing.

This post is in response to Her Bad Mother’s Call to Action.