Blog #3 Sara Campbell

My favorite cartoon growing up was Scooby Doo. I've always thought it was really funny but also kind of scary at the same time. As I got older I started to notice certain gender stereotypes that "the gang" portrayed.

To start off with, Daphne was the pretty girl. She was skinny but she still had curves and it was always implied that she and Fred were meant to be. She often ended up playing the damsel in distress in which case Fred would come up with some elaborate plan to rescue her. Which leads me to another gender role. Fred is the leader of the gang. He's the most masculine and handsome of the guys and his plans always work. He has muscles and blond hair and he also dresses nicer than Shaggy. Fred is the stereotypical guy which makes him the leader.

In comparison to Fred is Shaggy. Shaggy dresses really sloppy and his hair is always a mess. He is really skinny and not very smart. These certain characteristics make Shaggy an unlikely candidate as the leader of the gang. They also reinforce Fred as the number one in command. Then there is Velma. Velma is really smart and is usually the one who provides some kind of evidence to prove the criminal wrong. She really comes up with the key factor to solve the crime in which Fred takes credit for by applying her evidence into a plan to catch the criminal.

Then there is Scooby Doo. Scooby is a male dog that helps them solve the crimes. He can be easily persuaded to do anything the gang asks of him if given a Scooby Snack. Scooby adds the comedy to the show because an ordinary dog could never perform the way he does or talk for that matter.

This show portrays gender and sexuality because of it's stereotypical boy and girl, Fred and Daphne, and then the less masculine/feminine characters, Shaggy and Velma.