Gender Representation in Cartoons from Then to Now: Essay

By the time average Americans reach the age of eighteen, they have spent approximately 15,000 hours in front of the television. That is around 4,000 hours more than they have spent being educated and a great deal more time than they have spent on their relationships with their families and peers (Minnow & LaMay 1995, cited in Dubow et al. 2006, p.404). As Judith Butler stipulates, “Because gender is not a fact, the various acts of gender create the idea of gender, and without those acts, there would be no gender at all” (Butler 1988, p.242). This statement infers that our idea of gender is based on the acts of gender we are exposed to. Hence, because much of our childhood is spent being bombarded by different media outlets, it is implied that children will learn a lot of their beliefs revolving around gender and gender roles from what they are exposed to in the media. This puts a great deal of importance, especially in this age where all of Western societies’ gender stereotypes are being questioned, on what kind of media we are exposing our children to. According to Mitra and Lewin-Jones (2012, p.389), an important factor for children when determining sex-appropriate behavior is the example they see, since they pay attention to the sex of active characters around them. As children tend to watch a lot of cartoons, today’s cartoons must be reflective of the gender roles we want to teach them. In this essay, I will be comparing the gender-role stereotypes that are presented in the modern-day cartoon ‘Adventure Time’ and the more traditional roles depicted in the fairy tales that have had Disney remakes. I argue that our vision of different gender stereotypes can and is evolving from the traditional ones exemplified in these fairy tales to the ones represented by characters depicted in ‘Adventure Time’.

‘Adventure Time’ is an American animated television show that first premiered in 2010 after its hit short on YouTube went viral. Due to its success, it has been broadcast by Cartoon Network worldwide and has gathered an almost cult-like following. The show is for children and adults alike, with elements of silliness and cartoony animation, showing at times a more mature side in terms of content. The show centers around Finn, a human boy, and his adoptive brother, Jake, a shape-shifting dog. Together they embark on adventures in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, devoid of humans except Finn. Some other characters include Princess Bubblegum and BMO which I will be discussing in more detail later. ‘Adventure Time’ is not aimed at either boys or girls as it contains strong female and male characters, as well as some genderless/ambiguous characters. Although the show relies strongly on the traditional role of a hero helping a princess, the characters do so in ways that challenge traditional fairy tale stereotypes and provide refreshing role models for children.

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The traditional role of a princess is that of a damsel in distress, one that has no other function but to be a princess who needs to be rescued in some way shape, or form. This is clearly portrayed throughout the original Disney princess cartoons such as ‘Snow White’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Rapunzel’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. They represent stereotyped ideals of femininity and masculinity and enforce polarized roles between men and women. The princesses in ‘Adventure Time’ are different in that they are not waiting for a prince to come to save them, and they play an active role in their kingdom, often being its sole matriarchy. A prime example of this is Princess Bubblegum. Although her appearance is very feminine, her dress, hair, and skin tone all being different shades of pink, she is the sole ruler of her kingdom, actively ensuring the safety of her subjects. She is also a scientist, often performing various experiments in her castle while wearing more regular clothes and a lab coat. She does ask Finn for help, which could be construed as falling into the damsel in distress trope, but she doesn’t ask him to rescue her. She usually asks him to run errands for her, occasionally asking for help with some sort of monster. Her character is a better reflection of today's women as more and more women are entering and succeeding in the male-dominant field of science, or just pursuing careers in general. She’s also shown to have had a romantic relationship with another female character on the show, introducing audiences to the idea of same-sex relationships. This is also a more modern reflection of today's relationships, demonstrating that women don’t need to be with a man as the older fairy tales may have us believe.

Traditional male roles are also challenged in ‘Adventure Time’ as shown by the show's protagonist Finn. Although Finn does fit into the male stereotype just by being a male lead hero, he also demonstrates versatility in his character by continuously showing his emotions and speaking up about his feelings, things typically reserved for a more feminine role. Finn is not a big strong man either as heroes usually are in fairy tales. Male heroes in Disney's cartoons are stoic and often quiet, not contributing much in terms of dialogue. Since Finn is the main character of the show, based on Mitra and Lewin-Jones’ findings (2012, p.389), children may assume that the program is directed at boys. Finn is not, however, a stereotypical example for children. He is not traditionally masculine but more androgynous: helpful, and sensitive, but at the same time adventurous and brave. He’s also a thin teenager, a character more relatable to most of their audience. He can be seen crying in various episodes, once crying over a breakup. He also communicates his feelings and is not afraid to admit to his mistakes. His character at this time is not a reflection of how men in our society are today, however, he is what we want to be teaching our children. Butler (1988, p.528) states that “performing one's gender wrong initiates a set of punishments both obvious and indirect, and performing it well provides the reassurance that there is an essentialism of gender identity after all”. Finn does not receive punishment for behaving in 'un-manly' ways, so this reinforces in children that it is acceptable behavior from a boy or man, creating a generation of men who are not afraid to show or speak of their emotions.

Due to the fact that almost all the characters in ‘Adventure Time’ are not human, they have versatile looks, and their appearance is often determined instead by their place of origin. For example, the subjects of the Candy Kingdom look like candy, as the name suggests. Hence, the gender of the characters cannot always be deduced by their appearance. It is usually their behavior that hints at their gender identity. This feature contrasts with almost all Disney princess movies, as the characters in them are clearly either male or female based solely on appearance. This presents children with preconceived notions of what males and females are supposed to look like or wear. As Butler (1988, p.526) states, “Gender is an act which has been rehearsed, much as a script survives the particular actors who make use of it, but which requires individual actors in order to be actualized and reproduced as reality once again”, meaning these acts that are presented to us through these movies only act to reinforce what is now outdated ideas of gender stereotypes. An ambiguous main character in the show is BMO, Finn and Jake’s roommate and video game console. His appearance does not offer any clues regarding his sex, and his behavior gives mixed signals about his gender identity. Different characters use different pronouns to describe BMO, however, it was mentioned numerous times that BMO was in fact genderless. Lemish (2014, p.184) states that even non-gendered characters such as animals and creatures are practically always labeled a gender, usually automatically male. BMO is constantly challenging this assumption though, participating in many activities usually reserved for female characters, such as playing house or cooking. Due to BMO being a machine, he is less relatable to children, but it is still inspiring to see a character reach beyond the gender binary.

As we can see based on the examples given, ‘Adventure Time’ challenges many gender role stereotypes that are presented in many of the older cartoons, most notably in the first-generation fairy tales that were remade by Disney. The comparison to these fairy tales truly demonstrates the contrast and evolution that modern-day cartoons have gone through to better represent today’s ideals or what they should be. ‘Adventure Time’ is not the only cartoon now to have presented radically different gender role views to audiences. Other cartoons such as ‘Steven Universe’ and ‘Hilda’ also exhibit multiple lead characters who do not fit into the gender binary, opening up young minds to the possibility of non-conforming gender ideals and gender fluidity. ‘Adventure Time’ is however the first cartoon to do so, so openly and unapologetically. They present their characters as they are, never making audiences aware that their characters’ traits may be considered deviant from their gender identity. For the purpose of this essay, only a couple of characters who worked to prove my point were chosen to be compared, however, many more characters could have been chosen for the same purpose. Gender roles and ideals in ‘Adventure Time’ are a better representation of today’s Western society as we become more open to various gender representations, some even doing away with gender identity altogether. Although we are far from the all-accepting utopia where gender is more of an arbitrary concept, cartoon shows such as ‘Adventure Time’ can be seen as a first step towards creating a generation of open minds that question and challenge some of our still dominant archaic gender stereotypes.