AIBU to think there should be sex equality in children’s programmes?

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

It pisses me off that there are so many male characters to female. For example:
PJ Masks - 2 boys: 1 girl
Go Jetters - 3 boys/1 male unicorn: 1 girl
Paw Patrol - 6(?) male dogs: 2 female dogs
Octonauts - 5 male : 3 female (assuming the vegetable is a girl)

Why are we reinforcing male as the default?

(Yes, I do have better things to worry about, no I don’t think it’s the greatest injustice in the world, yes, I think the absence of racial diversity and visible disability is also a problem).

It is a bit disturbing there are no children's programs the other way around at all

Absolutely agree. Sarah and Duck is good, and My Little Pony. Pretty much everything else feels like the girls are 'tokens' and it's shit.

It is shit but I don't think the kids notice thank fully.
I feel like we spend alot of time doing things to promote equality at home. LAst night at dinner we were discussing with the kids, the fact that girls and boys can do the same job and how it would be nice to see more male nurses and teachers and more females in construction.

@BubblyBarbara

It is a bit disturbing there are no children's programs the other way around at all

If they did they’d be labelled as “girls programmes”, and boys wouldn’t be able to watch them in case their willies fell off.

reinforces male as default

Amen to this, sister.

It is shit but I don't think the kids notice thank fully.

I don't think they notice outright, but I think it does feed into the narrative that girls are lesser, secondary, not as fun and not as interesting. It becomes part of the culture. And then it becomes a problem that it isn't noticed, because it is accepted as the norm and the truth of a situation.

Barbie dreamhouse on netflix is mainly girls (DS1 loves it)
Also Chloes closet

YANBU. I think anything with predominantly female characters is seen as ‘just for girls’.

Not TV, but I think it’s very telling that a female writer like JK Rowling chose to use a male main character as she wanted her books to appeal to both sexes. Also, she published under a gender neutral name.

Completely agree @TestingTestingWonTooFree and you've succinctly summed up why it is an issue that should be taken more seriously @sillysmiles.

My boys used to love Peppa Pig & Doc McStuffins when they were little. Peppa was almost too much the other way with all the 'silly daddy pig' situations but good to have a female lead and Doc Mc was good as the doctor was female. They also loved Thomas The Tank engine and it would be no issue to have that as equal numbers of male to female engines with the same storylines.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was also a firm favourite and the girl in that was great but again mainly male characters but you could easily slot in another female so I don't think it would be hard to do and still appeal to boys as long as the action is there.

I know Fortnite is a game rather than tv show, but it's actually good as some of the female skins are the most popular (although don't get me started on their Jessica Rabbit figures!)

@sillysmiles

It is shit but I don't think the kids notice thank fully.

I don't think they notice outright, but I think it does feed into the narrative that girls are lesser, secondary, not as fun and not as interesting. It becomes part of the culture. And then it becomes a problem that it isn't noticed, because it is accepted as the norm and the truth of a situation.

Yep this this this. It's all these little undercover messages, all petty on their own but they all add up

Believe me, it gets worse as they get older as well. Cartoon network has been my daughters channel of choice for the last 5 years, doesn't have a single show with a female as the protagonist.

My daughter is now 12, and I'm so glad I can start introducing her to some carefully curated "grown up" shows like Buffy, Warehouse 13 etc. with strong female characters.

I was ranting about this the other day! And why is it that in both Go Jetters and Paw Patrol the girl's skill is flying? Not the problem solver, not the strong one, not the funny one.

Thank goodness for Frozen!

My kids have been binging on She-Ra -Princesses of Power and Steven Universe, both of which have mostly female characters. Also Avatar and Legend of Korra, but I haven't watched it, so I don't know how the characters break down.

My DD is only 21 months but I have noticed this. My girl loves music so she watches The Wiggles a lot. Although there are 3 boys and 1 girl, the main character is Emma and she plays drums and dresses up as a fireman, but also dances and has a bow. She also likes Moon and Me with Pepe Nana as the main character, although its obviously still quite baby ish. I do feel a lot if the female characters are put in shows as a sort of attempt at balance without much purpose.

My daughters (6 and 3) love Bluey and Bingo from Bluey because they are both girls/dogs and are sisters just like they are.

But really there are few characters in cartoons/children’s programming that are girls unless it’s heavily targeted towards girls. (With product tie ins)

I do like that the girls in Octonauts are the ones with the most technical jobs (Dashi’s a computer expert/navigator and tweak is an engineer)

Great Chef Momento - no female characters.

Agree. It still feels like they put in a token girl into the mix.

Hey Duggee - 4 boys (Including Duggee), 2 girls

Etc

That's why I like the Moomins, pretty even mix of male and female characters and the female ones aren't just support characters. My toddler son pretty much exclusively watches it as he is obsessed. Bluey is another good one, though my daughter is convinced Bluey is a boy because Bluey is blue...

I love the pp unironically giving pink-laden shows as the counterargument.

Gojetters isn't marketed as a boys show, no excuse for Zuli to be the only female.

And the girls are always dressed in pink. With a bow, incase you absolutely can’t tell they’re a girl.

And why is it Skye from Paw Patrol always has the ‘But what do we do now?’ helpless line.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Anime and Manga is great for balancing this issue out. There isn't just lots, of females in it, which isn't enough. They are all strong females who take the lead.

Been a while since my kids watched kids shows, didn't the Rugrats have a good balance of male/female characters?

@VirginiaWolverine

My kids have been binging on She-Ra -Princesses of Power and Steven Universe, both of which have mostly female characters. Also Avatar and Legend of Korra, but I haven't watched it, so I don't know how the characters break down.

Avatar - two male one female main cast, but a plethora of female characters who make a big impact, are strong, fierce, determined and not necessarily "nice".

Korra - two male, two female. Female lead, probable LGB relationships but not explicitly stated. Lots of male and female characters representing a range of personalities.

Both shows are racially diverse and have a strong "good vs evil with plenty of grey areas" vibe.

Excellent shows, both.

100% agree. I do like that Betty in Hey Duggee is the clever one. But girls are still outnumbered everywhere. Asked 3 year old DD what she was doing the other day and she said she was playing knights and princesses- her brother was the knight and she was the princess and he was rescuing her because she was lost. (Her brother is a year old and was oblivious!). I said maybe the knight could be lost and the princess could rescue him? And she just said ‘don’t be silly Mummy.’

Korra explores themes such a fascism too so v relevant these days.

YANBU - and the boys often get the good roles too. It's really annoying.