Strong Hero or Violent Playboy? Portrayals of Masculinity in Children’s Animated Movies

Harriger, Jennifer A.; Wick, Madeline R.; Trivedi, Himja; Callahan, Kaitlin E.

doi:10.1007/s11199-021-01247-0

Cited by 15 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…First, we included the themes winning, power over women , heterosexual self-presentation , emotional control, playboy, violence, self-reliance, risk-taking , and primacy of work . These themes were created for the purpose of another study measuring masculinity themes in movies (Harriger et al, 2021) which utilized questions from the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory–46 (Parent & Moradi, 2009), a popular measure that assesses adherence to masculine norms. Additionally, we added themes that were assessed in earlier studies of gender roles in media ( physically strong, assertive, athletic, inspires fear, brave, leader , assertion and preservation of masculinity, engagement in traditionally masculine activities, objectification of women, confidence, engagement of activities to build strength, engagement in activities to enhance appearance, talks about strength, talks about appearance , England et al, 2011; Harriger et al, 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers reported that two of the most common themes in children’s animated movies were violence and inspires fear and argued that these themes are consistent with the conceptualization of toxic masculinity. Other toxic masculinity traits such as objectification of women, playboy behavior, power over women , and heterosexual self-presentation were rarely found in children’s animated films (Harriger et al, 2021).…”

Section: Traditional and Toxic Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We are not aware of any content analyses that have examined toxic masculinity traits in superheroes (other than violence); therefore, the current analysis will seek to include these masculinity traits in our analysis of superhero films. Our analysis will also seek to include a more comprehensive list of masculine traits than past studies by selecting additional themes from research examining gendered messaging in the media (England et al, 2011;Harriger et al, 2018Harriger et al, , 2021.…”

Section: Masculinities In Superhero Filmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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With great power comes great responsibility: A content analysis of masculinity themes in superhero movies.

Harriger¹,

Wick²,

Mendez³

et al. 2022

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

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This content analysis examined the frequency of messages regarding masculinity in a sample of 30 worldwide top-grossing superhero films and explored whether superheroes and villains significantly differed by type or frequency of masculinity messages they exhibited. Results demonstrated a high number of masculinity themes present in the overall sample. The most common masculinity themes reported for the superheroes were physically strong, violence, and athletic, while the most common masculinity themes reported for the villain characters were violence and physically strong. Superheroes were significantly more likely to be depicted as strong, athletic, asserting and preserving masculinity, discussing appearance, and risk-taking compared to villains. No significant differences in violence, objectifying women, or playboy behavior between the superhero and villain characters were found. Findings warrant additional scrutiny and consideration by researchers and interested stakeholders. Public Significance StatementThis content analysis found that superhero films, which serve as important communicators of masculinity ideals, portray superheroes as engaging in risk-taking behavior, discussing their appearance, and asserting and preserving masculinity more so than villains. Additionally, our findings that there were no significant differences in the frequency of superheroes versus villains engaging in violence, objectifying women, or being a playboy are concerning. Superhero films serve as gender socializing agents; therefore, we recommend continued exploration of the messages regarding masculinity and the impacts of such messages in these films.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Traditional and Toxic Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Masculinities In Superhero Filmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

With great power comes great responsibility: A content analysis of masculinity themes in superhero movies.

Harriger¹,

Wick²,

Mendez³

et al. 2022

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In popular culture aimed at children in middle childhood, boys are often portrayed as active leaders (Murnen et al , 2016; Luisi, 2019; Harriger et al , 2021). For example, Reich et al (2018) examined the gendered themes associated with LEGO® toy-sets and found that sets targeted to boys were more likely to highlight heroism and technical skill.…”

Section: Gender and Children’s Graphic T-shirtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, girls’ toys are more likely to encourage creativity in line with arts/crafts rather than technical skills (Pomerleau et al , 1990). Similarly, in children’s cartoons, male characters are more likely to show ingenuity in problem-solving (Aubrey and Harrison, 2004), are more likely to be portrayed as athletic and self-sufficient (Thompson and Zerbinos, 1995) and are frequently portrayed as violent risk-takers when compared to female characters (Harriger et al , 2021). Self-sufficiency is also a theme related to masculinity in TV shows most popular with boys ages 7–13 (Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, 2020) and in promoting children’s movies (Aley and Hahn, 2020).…”

Section: Gender and Children’s Graphic T-shirtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boys Go, Girls Go Along: exploring gender and price differences regarding themes present on children’s graphic t-shirts

Lapierre

Ashtaputre

Aubrey

2022

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Purpose Using gender schema theory, this study aims to explore how children’s graphic t-shirts from clothing retailers in the USA differed on gendered themes for graphic t-shirts targeting boys or girls, in addition to differences for shirts that were higher in cost. Design/methodology/approach This content analysis of children’s t-shirts included 866 child-targeted shirts taken from the online retail portals from 11 clothing retailers in the USA. Shirts were coded for gendered themes on the front torso part of the shirt and included traditional boy themes (e.g. aggression, instrumentality) and girl themes (e.g. compassion, passivity). In addition, the retail prices for each shirt were recorded at the time of data collection. Findings The results demonstrated that children’s graphic t-shirts starkly differentiate between femininity and masculinity based on their target. Boys’ shirts were significantly more likely to feature active themes, whereas girls’ shirts were more likely to focus on social belonging and interpersonal connection. Boys’ shirts were also more likely to display themes linked to dominance/aggression but not compassion. Girls’ shirts were more likely to tout both shyness and attention seeking. Finally, results generally showed that higher priced t-shirts were less likely to feature gender stereotypes than lower-priced t-shirts. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known study that has looked at the marketing of children’s clothes in retail environments with a specific focus on gender and gender stereotyping.

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Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Youth Media

Aubrey,

Maas,

Choukas-Bradley

et al. 2024

Handbook of Children and Screens

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One consistent source of socialization of gender and sexuality for youth is entertainment screen media. This chapter summarizes recent conclusions from content analyses on the representation of gender and sexuality in entertainment screen media popular among and created for youth. In terms of gender, (1) male characters outnumber female characters, (2) female characters are supposed to care about their appearance and be sexy, whereas male characters are supposed to be large and muscular, (3) male characters are more likely to be physically aggressive, whereas female characters are more likely to be relationally aggressive, (4) male characters are more likely to portray science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers and hobbies, whereas female characters are more likely to portray careers and interests in humanities and the arts, and (5) male characters are more likely to be leaders than female characters. In terms of sexuality, (1) sexual talk and behaviors are frequent, (2) heterosexual relationships are assumed and naturalized, (3) many sexual interactions conform to a “heterosexual script” wherein female characters are supposed to assume responsibility for sexual interactions, whereas male characters are sex-obsessed, and (4) sex is portrayed in mainly recreational ways. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

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Strong Hero or Violent Playboy? Portrayals of Masculinity in Children’s Animated Movies

Cited by 15 publications

References 38 publications

With great power comes great responsibility: A content analysis of masculinity themes in superhero movies.

With great power comes great responsibility: A content analysis of masculinity themes in superhero movies.

Boys Go, Girls Go Along: exploring gender and price differences regarding themes present on children’s graphic t-shirts

Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Youth Media

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