When I was a young kid growing up, one of my favorite television shows to watch was the popular Cartoon-Network show, Scooby-Doo. The main character was a dog named Scooby, and him and his friends would drive around the world and solve mysteries together. There were many aspects of the show that contributed to my own definition of gender/sexuality, and for the most part they were conveyed through the qualities of the characters.
Scooby and his best friend Shaggy were the two goofiest characters on the show, and they almost never left each other's side. Their favorite hobby by far was eating, and they were constantly wolfing-down whatever food they could get their hands on. This shows younger boys who watch the show that it's alright to eat food and that it's really fun, and there isn't one scene in which the two female characters (Daphne and Velma) eat like Shaggy and Scooby. The other male character, Fred, is the leader of the Mystery Inc. "gang" and he's the person that gives all of the orders. He's very confident in what he does and other people latch onto him, especially girls. These attributes show younger kids that boys are supposed to be confident and be a leader in order to get the pretty girls.
Scooby and his best friend Shaggy were the two goofiest characters on the show, and they almost never left each other's side. Their favorite hobby by far was eating, and they were constantly wolfing-down whatever food they could get their hands on. This shows younger boys who watch the show that it's alright to eat food and that it's really fun, and there isn't one scene in which the two female characters (Daphne and Velma) eat like Shaggy and Scooby. The other male character, Fred, is the leader of the Mystery Inc. "gang" and he's the person that gives all of the orders. He's very confident in what he does and other people latch onto him, especially girls. These attributes show younger kids that boys are supposed to be confident and be a leader in order to get the pretty girls.
There are two main female characters in the cartoon, who are named Velma and Daphne. Velma is a nerdy, glasses-wearing girl is always complaining and losing her glasses. In most of the episodes she will lose her glasses, not be able to see anything, and someone else in the group will have to save her from a perilous situation. Daphne is portrayed as pretty, fashionable, and she seems to always follow Fred in whatever he does. The qualities of the female characters tell young girls who watch the show that girls are supposed to be dependent and be more like Daphne, not Velma. The qualities of characters in cartoons are just one of many ways in which society shapes the views of gender and sexuality for young kids.
I can remember watching Scooby-Doo all the time as a kid. You did a great job of explaining how each character represents their gender. It is interesting to actually think about how each character represents their gender because when I was a kid I would never think that far in depth as to why the characters were doing what they were doing.
ReplyDeleteI found your post really interesting. I would have never thought of scooby doo as a show that would say so much about gender and sexuality. however, you did a really good job explaining how it does. I would have never made some of the connections that you did, especially as a child.
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