cartoons, kids programmes, movies, to watch that areb't blatantly or subliminally sexist?

[AnnaBanana25]

I mean, do any even exist? I'm sick of daddy Pig being lazy, of princesses waiting for The One, I even realised today that girls eyes in cartoons are typically bigger than boys- I read that widening eye
s is a way to look like you need protecting. so tellme.. is it no tv or is there anything decent to sit my son in front of when I need to get the dinner on??.

[VestalVirgin]

Can't help you there, I watch virtually no TV.

Maybe this site could be helpful: reelgirl.com/about/

[ChunkyPickle]

It's all pretty bad - token girl, (or girls if you're lucky) always have the eyelashes, the mothering role, the passive super power..

Abney and Teal on CBeebies isn't bad if your kids like it (DS watched it solidly for 3 years - but he doesn't like anything with danger or excitement!)

Sarah and Duck, Peg plus Cat, Tilly and Friends, Charlie and Lola, 64 Zoo Lane - I find that you stand a better chance of it not being too bad if the lead or one of two leads is a girl (excepting Everything's Rosie which is terrible) - as long as it's not specifically a 'girls cartoon'

I have no idea about cartoons for anyone above 5 though....

[VestalVirgin]

If you just need something to keep your son busy and he's toddler age, maybe giving him something to play with/paint a picture, etc, would be the easiest way out?

At a certain age children will want to watch TV to fit in at school, but if he isn't that age yet, there's no need to do hours of research just to find something he can watch.

[AnnaBanana25]

Thanks ChunkyPickle for the ideas, will check those out.

Vestal thanks for the tips. Posting on mumsnet didn't take hours (proof in the atrocious grammar and spelling mistakes in original post). He's 18 months so by no means glued to the TV but too young not to scream by my feet if I need a few minutes to get some food together. Hence the compromise of popping a little programme on as he's not going to happily play with his toys or get crafty when he knows his dinner is nearly ready!

He's not noticing the gender stereotyping but there is only so much I can take... and will be nice to counteract his granddad telling him EVERY TIME he sees him "you're such a STRONG boy! You're HANDSOME not cute!" Grrr.

[VestalVirgin]

Well, his not noticing the gender stereotyping is part of the problem, isn't it? It'll just seep into his vulnerable little baby brain... sorry, that's a bit overdramatic.

I really wouldn't know what to give a child that age to watch that contains no subliminal sexism at all. Except maybe videos of cute kittens.

His granddad sounds like a really weird person. I mean ... your son is one and a half years old ... people probably wouldn't even be able to tell he's male just from looking at his face.

[ChunkyPickle]

Oh goodness.. DS1 didn't get TV until he was a touch older. DS2 has DS1's influence but gets bored very quickly - a couple of episodes of Bing is his limit (not brilliant, but at least not actively bad either)

The others are perhaps a bit complicated for one that young (although, DS1's first anticipatory giggle at a character about to be covered in snow came at about 2 from an episode of abney and teal)

[ChunkyPickle]

Both Grandads have made dismissive remarks to my boys about wearing bracelets (or whatever) being like a girl.

Luckily they're both primed that girls are awesome, their mum once was one, and there's nothing wrong with wearing whatever they like and playing with whatever they want.

Interestingly, the grandmothers have some stereotyped opinions, but never feel the urge to voice them to the kids - especially not in the sneering, mickey-taking voice I've heard from both grandfathers.

[monkeywrench]

i think he is a bit young still but try Masha and the Bear it is on Youtube and is FABULOUS!! especially Prances with Wolves....mind, you won't get much cooking done as you will be watching too :)

[Dervel]

Teacup Travels is great imo. Huge favorite of my toddler, and I think it's pretty charming as well.

[angryangryyoungwoman]

Interesting because I was thinking this earlier when watching peppa pig with my daughter and a a shirt being rejected by daddy pig and George because it was pink. Just one example. I am watching thread with interest...

[NotCitrus]

Numberjacks, Alphablocks, Sarah and Duck are about it for CBeebies, but any CBeebies is better than the commercial kids channels because the ads are so hideously stereotyped (and my line that 'all toys on TV are crap, which is why they need to advertise' backfired when they showed the incredibly robust Octopod), and the presenters are scarily stereotyped too - piles of make-up on all the women which CBeebies presenters don't have.

Messy goes to Okido isn't bad. Swashbuckle has two female leads with two male sidekicks. Otherwise there's some two girl, two boy groups where there is a pink girl and a non-pink one and two fairly characterless boys (Go-Jetters, for example, which at least has a camp disco rainbow unicorn to redeem it...)

[AnnaBanana25]

Great guys thanks! This is all new as we only put a bit on you tube for those necessary moments. Will check them out. It was interesting watching the secret life of 4 year olds and seeing typical boy/girl stereotype behavior (girls singing, girls wanting to act out getting married, boys wanting to be superheroes etc) and dh and I debated where it had come from. I do think the stereotypes start young- we may think they don't get it but I'm constantly surprised by his understanding and growing skills.

Grandads... Yes this one in particular is very strange. Especially strange about asserting his 'man box' on everyone else. The man can't even wear a light shade of blue because it's not manly enough. Ridiculous.

[Wickedlittlehigh]

I was disappointed earlier today with Ben and Holly, where a sport was dismissed as 'girly'. I don't want my two DDs hearing that, thanks B&H writers!!

Whatever you do, OP, don't watch Zingzillas. It is horrible.

Melody is good...has a young girl with a disability that she works with and a single mum who is really excellent.

[southeastastra]

watch some studio ghilbi (sp) stuff, they're very sweet and innocent and not at all disneyfied. Cat returns is especially nice.

Or just watch old tv shows on youtube, something like pipkins

[LiftWantedAroundTheWorld]

Mist the border collie is nice.

And the DVD of the Hungry caterpillar and other stories is amazing.

[LiftWantedAroundTheWorld]

The film versions of the gruffallo and room on the Broom too.

[BertieBotts]

There's a great book called Pink Brain, Blue Brain you might like OP :) It talks about this stuff.

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is okay, I think? From memory, anyway. I used to like that :) (You can also get an adult snigger out of the fact that the trees look suspiciously like marijuana leaves...)

I also liked an odd thing DS found on netflix called Tom and the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam. It's on Youtube.

In The Night Garden is not totally free of stereotyping - Upsy Daisy is very "girly" but it's sufficiently calm that it didn't really seem to matter, and most of the characters are androgynous.

[BertieBotts]

Hmm.. you might want to watch the Tom one first. It REALLY is odd. And some strange messages in some episodes. I love it, though :o

[partialderivative]

I miss watching Pingu with my DD's. I don't remember any sexism in it, just a lot of fun on a level we both could enjoy.

[NoTechnologicalBreakdown]

Film-wise, I'll second the studio ghibli suggestion. Frozen, Brave and Tangled aren't too bad, or at least the princesses save themselves in them.