Do Cartoons Have an Impact on our Children's Lives?

By: Cassie Christopherson

How much of an impact today do cartoons have on children and the way they want to grow up? What do cartoons show our children about being a male or a female, Black, Hispanic or White? And do the images they see on TV help or hinder who they could become?

These were just a few of the questions that I thought of when I was watching an old time cartoon from when I was younger, Tom and Jerry. Tom and Jerry was more vulgar than I ever remembered when I was younger and the commercials were not portraying the innocence that children should have. The authors of Sociology, The Essentials, say that, “…men and women learn the expectations that are associated with their sex through gender socialization.” They then later state that, “…through gender socialization, one then learns the definition of oneself as a woman or man through gender identity.” So are our children growing up to be like what they see on TV or are most of what they are learning on how to become a male or a female learned in the home?

What were the influences you had growing up to shape your views of men and women’s roles?

Most of the images that are shown to girls are that their bodies will get them attention. There are images of dolls, such as Bratz and Barbie, which show them wearing very short skirts, mid-drift shirts, tons of make-up, large breasts and skinny waists. Young girls have started to copy the same things they see and are looking the same way Barbie is portrayed, the only difference between dolls and cartoons is in cartoons they can walk and talk, so they seem to have more of an attitude in both their speech and the way they present themselves.

On Looney Tunes for example, one of the female characters is dressed as a promiscuous nurse while the male characters gawk at her. This begins to make girls think that getting attention from men solely on your body is ok.

I also noticed an interesting factor between white girls and girls of other races such as the two girls in Jimmy Neutron. The white girls’ clothing, the way she presents herself, and her attitude, was somewhat more modest then that of the Hispanic or African American girl. The African American girls’ clothing and appearance was more provocative and they seemed to have more of an attitude. There is also a difference between the economic surplus between the White girl and the African American girl. Do little girls now-a-days portray this image?

Young boys do not have it easy either. I watched one cartoon in particular, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey, in which the main little boy was rude, mean and had no manners. The commercials dealt a lot with trucks or action figures. The image portrayed to little boys was that boys are supposed to be mean and aggressive. They can be bullies if they like as well as being disrespectful and it is ok. Other images I saw were how it is ok for boys to have gas, burp, eat with their mouths open in public and basically have no manners. Boys are seen as the ones who run-a-muck and destroy things, they are never sitting still and they don’t care who is around to see it.

There were differences between White boys and boys of Hispanic or African American descent. White boys are shown to be smarter and to be the ones who will become more successful such as Jimmy Neutron, compared to those who are Hispanic or African American. Hispanics and African American’s are considered to be more rebellious and cause more trouble like in Rocket Power. They are also the ones who wore clothing that were darker and baggier. White boys wore clothing that was not as baggy and had lighter colors. Although it seemed like the boys of darker skin color were the ones that made most of the trouble and were punished extensively for it, there were a fair amount of instances when a White boy would get into trouble and be punished far less than the boys of color. Do we see this in the little boys now-a-days?

So do the images that media portrays in cartoons and commercials have an affect on the way children perceive being a male and female, including the way they should act when it comes to their race? Or do children learn most of their gender roles at home? Are you influenced by the TV shows that you watch? Did you ever think that the cartoons you were watching may have had a role in the way you were shaped into a male or a female? You be the judge.