Gender-sensitive Portrayal in Cartoon Shows for Preschoolers: A Critical Analysis of Masha and the Bear

Q2 Social Sciences

Asia Pacific Media Educator Pub Date : 2021-10-07 DOI:10.1177/1326365X211048587

Kaifia Ancer Laskar

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Most of the studies on children’s programming conducted in America or India, indicating an unbalanced and stereotypical gender representation, remain limited to those on older children. The present study explores if cartoon shows for preschoolers resort to the counter-hegemonic portrayal of male/female characters, and if thereby have any scope for representation of gender fluidity within it. Consequently, it also attempts to discern the ways in which interpersonal relationships between the protagonists, and between the protagonist(s) and the secondary character(s) portray any ‘dominant/submissive’ dichotomies. Drawing on Bandura’s ‘Social Learning Theory’ and de Beauvoir’s notion of the social construction of women as the ‘other’, this study presents the results of textual analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis of a popular Russian cartoon show ‘Masha and the Bear’ (M&TB) telecast on Nick Jr. The study findings indicate more gender-sensitive representation in the show for preschoolers than those for the older children. Bearing the tropes of Soviet Russian egalitarian and cultural traits, the characters of M&TB portray non-binary gender roles compared to their American or Indian counterparts.

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学龄前儿童动画片中对性别敏感的刻画——对《玛莎与熊》的批判性分析

在美国或印度进行的大多数关于儿童节目的研究表明，性别代表性不平衡和陈规定型，但仍仅限于对年龄较大儿童的研究。本研究探讨了学龄前儿童的卡通节目是否采用了对男性/女性角色的反霸权刻画，从而是否有任何表现性别流动性的空间。因此，它还试图辨别主人公之间的人际关系，在主人公和次要角色之间，描绘了任何“支配/顺从”的二分法。本研究借鉴班杜拉的“社会学习理论”和德波伏娃关于女性作为“他者”的社会建构观，对尼克·J电视台播出的俄罗斯热门卡通节目《玛莎与熊》进行了文本分析和批判性话语分析。研究结果表明，与年龄较大的儿童相比，学龄前儿童在节目中的性别敏感度更高。带有苏俄平等主义和文化特征的比喻，与美国或印度同行相比，M&TB的角色描绘了非二元性别角色。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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Asia Pacific Media Educator COMMUNICATION-

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期刊介绍： Asia Pacific Media Educator is an international refereed journal published twice a year by SAGE Publications (New Delhi) in collaboration with the School of the Arts, English and Media, Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, University of Wollongong in Australia. The journal follows international norms and procedures of blind peer reviewing by scholars representing a wide range of multi-disciplinary areas. APME focuses on generating discussions and dialogues among media educators, researchers and journalists. Content ranges from critical commentaries and essays to research reports and papers that contribute to journalism theory development and offer innovative ideas in improving the standard and currency of media reportage, teaching and training specific to the Asia Pacific region. Papers that integrate media theories with applications to professional practice, media training and journalism education are usually selected for peer review. APME also carries a Q&A section with book authors. APME takes conventional book reviews to a more creative level where reviewers directly engage with authors to understand the process that authors take in researching and writing the book, clarify their assumptions and pose critical questions.