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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 6
Publication Date: June 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.86.10228. Hare, S. C., & Benham, M. (2021). Life According to Popular Children’s Films. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(6). 10-
21.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Life According to Popular Children’s Films
Sara C. Hare
Indiana University Southeast, United States
Mariah Benham
Indiana University Southeast, United States
ABSTRACT
This content analysis uses data gathered from the 150 top-grossing children’s
animated films from 1990 to 2020 (based on North American theater sales) to
examine the gender disparities and stereotypes in children’s media. The study
shows that female characters are underrepresented in lead roles (14%), main
gangs (28.1%), and speaking roles (27.2%). The central female characters are
portrayed stereotypically. When female characters appear, they are more likely to
be portrayed in a romantic and family relationship than male characters. However,
films with a greater percentage of women writers are correlated with more
speaking roles for female characters. The impact of media on children’s
development is indisputable due to the way technology has become ingrained in
day-to-day life. The lack of representation of female characters reinforces the
stereotypical portrayals that negatively affectthe self-esteem of girls and train boys
to expect an androcentric world. The skewed and stereotypical portrayal of female
characters fails to accurately represent the diversity of other parts of the world.
While many of these films are produced in the West, they are widely distributed and
consumed all over the world.
Keywords: Children’s Films, Media, Gender Inequality, Animation, Gender Stereotypes
INTRODUCTION
For members of Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2015), media consumption has
always been a large part of their lives. The technology boom of the 2000s meant that while the
world of media was advancing, access was also expanding. The United States Census Bureau
noted that only 18% of U.S. households used the internet in 1997, compared to 82% in 2016.
The Computer and Internet Use in the United States:2016 report also indicated that U.S.
households with children under the age of 18 were more likely to have home access to the
internet [1]. As technology develops, computers, smartphones, and other smart devices
continue to become even more accessible to the public. Media usage has been on a noticeable
upwards trend since the early 2000s among the younger population, and it is continuing to
occupy more space in our school, work, and personal lives. With that in mind, we have to
consider the impact on young minds.
The Kaiser Family Foundation researched the rates, patterns, and changes in children’s media
usage from 1999 to 2009 [2]. Their study, spread across three separate waves, is important in
understanding the role of media in children’s lives. It is one of the largest sources of information
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Hare, S. C., & Benham, M. (2021). Life According to Popular Children’s Films. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(6). 10-21.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10228
about media usage of youth in the United States. Key findings of the 2009 wave noted that young
people used media seven days a week for an average of over seven hours on a typical day. When
considering the influence on mental health, heavy media consumers report lower levels of
personal contentment and lower grades compared to moderate and light media users [2]. It is
also important to consider other variables that may influence media exposure and usage such
as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, location/access, gender, and age.
In the United States, while media usage is increasing overall, there are key subpopulations that
consume media at a higher rate than others. Notably, children ages 11 to 14 have the highest
overall rates of media exposure of those between the ages of 8 and 18 [2]. The Census report
indicates that boys have more media exposure than girls on a daily basis, but girls are one of
the noted groups in the Martins and Harrison longitudinal study [3] that experience a decline
in their self-esteem from television exposure. The U.S. Census Bureau report [1] indicates that
despite black and Hispanic youth consuming a significantly higher amount of media than white
youth on average, white boys are more likely to experience an increase in self-esteem while
black youth experience a decrease in self-esteem [3]. What does the decline in self-esteem from
these specific youth groups suggest about their portrayal in the media?
Martins and Harrison [3] discuss the importance of self-esteem in children in their study, citing
how previous research has shown that low self-esteem is linked to at-risk behaviors such as
alcohol use, drug abuse, disordered eating, and suicidal ideation. Media is extremely powerful
and shapes our reality, whether we are aware of it or not. Furthermore, the misconceptions and
stereotypes of different races and ethnic groups, minorities, and gender roles are further
perpetuated by their portrayal in the mass media [4]. Forcing children and people of color into
rigid and stereotypical roles or personas severely limits their accurate representation in the
media. However, the stereotypes do not only affect the targeted minorities of society, they also
influence how the rest of society views themselves and others.
In the 2018 documentary, This Changes Everything, Geena Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Sandra Oh,
Reese Witherspoon and others who have worked in Hollywood discuss the gender disparities
present in the industry [4]. Not only does the inequality exist in front of the camera with fewer
speaking roles for women and the stereotypes surrounding their looks, personality, and
physical appearance, but it also exists behind the camera. Despite producing successful films,
women directors are not given as many subsequent jobs due to the sexist perception that
“women aren’t assertive enough to direct” or poor reviews from male critics. Women writers
are brought into writers’ room only to ‘fluff’ up the female characters who appear stagnant and
“otherized.” When all of the directors, writers, producers, and other content creators are men,
the female characters are viewed from the male gaze. There is no discussion of the female’s
motivations or emotions. Instead, the women onscreen are transformed into props for the male
characters to use and work around. Women fill supporting roles for men’s stories, treated as if
they are less important and less valuable than their onscreen counterparts.
Media has a significant impact on our society. Bandura [5] stated that people view their own
reality in a different way when constantly exposed to the human-crafted or symbolic worlds
found in media. This idea is reflected in the documentary This Changes Everything [4] in which
the actor Geena Davis argued that reality follows film, and this is why representation in the
industry is so important. When the only stories being shown focus on the cis-gender white male
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experience, the world as a whole is misrepresented. Despite a majority of top-grossing films
being produced in the United States, they are consumed all over the world and in such a diverse
world, there are so many more stories to be told than those of the traditional white male.
With so many of the stories within films focusing on white men paired with the lack of
representation for women and persons of other races or cultures, how does this influence
young viewers? Bian, Cimpian, and Leslie [6] conducted a study that analyzed when gendered
notions of intelligence and brilliance begin to appear in young children. Their study revealed
that not only did these gender stereotypes regarding brilliance and its association with the male
gender begin to impact children around age six, but that these notions even influence the
activities that children choose to pursue. The stereotypes surrounding intelligence and gender
will continue to influence their interests as the children mature. Could it be possible that the
media designed for and geared towards children are reaffirming these stereotypical notions?
This study analyzed the 150 top-grossing animated films from 1990-2020. Researchers focused
on the parity of female and male characters and gathered information regarding appearance,
intimate bonds, and occupational roles to assess the presence of stereotypical roles and traits.
We also looked at how the gender of the authors and screenwriters correlated with onscreen
gender representation. In its entirety, this study adds to prior research concerning gender
parity in children’s media, and compiles evidence that could encourage film studios to construct
media that accurately represents global diversity.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Previous studies have found that females are significantly underrepresented in children’s
literature, television programs, educational software and videos games [7]. Despite claims of
equality between men and women, the ratio of males to females in top-grossing box office films
in North America from 1990 to 2005 remained unchanged at 2.6 males for every 1 female
onscreen [8]. The ratio of males to females in top-grossing films has remained unchanged for
15 years, despite increasing advocacy for equality in the industry. More recent studies from the
Geena Davis Institute [9,10] reveal that female leads are still a minority in both family films
(48.0%) and children’s television episodes (45.0%). The percentage of female leads in family
films has been on a noted upward trend, with 48.0% being a historic high. In children’s
television episodes, the See Jane TV study percentage of female leads has decreased from a peak
of 56% in 2017 to 45% in 2019 [10]. When conducting analyses on the top-grossing films of
2019, Lauzen [11] found that 40% of films featured a female protagonist and 37% had a female
as a major character. She noted that this jump from 31% to 40% is a dramatic increase in female
representation in top-grossing films. This is where we developed our first hypotheses:
H1: There are more male lead characters than female.
H2: The main gang is composed of more male than female characters.
H3: Female-led films have more female characters in the main gang than male-led
films.
Not only are female characters underrepresented in children’s media, but when they are found
in children’s media, they are riddled with stereotypes and double standards [7,12]. Female
characters are held to a different standard than their male counterparts in a variety of ways --
from age, to personality and body type, to occupational or leadership characteristics. Lauzen
and Dozier [12] found that female characters continue to be overrepresented in their 20s and
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Hare, S. C., & Benham, M. (2021). Life According to Popular Children’s Films. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(6). 10-21.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10228
30s. Male characters were overrepresented in their 30s and 40s, indicating that female
characters enjoy a shorter screen life, and are valued for their appearance more than anything
else. These findings were reinforced by Lauzen [11] who found that female characters were still
notably younger than male characters in the top-grossing films of 2019.
Appearance and other ‘likeability’ characteristics such as humor, intelligence, and physicality
are other major focal points of gender stereotypes. Smith et al. [8] found that in G-rated films,
female characters were more likely to be presented as physically attractive, intelligent, and
morally good, while male characters were more often presented as strong and funny. These
findings are further supported by recent research from the Geena Davis Institute. The See Jane
Film study [9] found that female characters were six times more likely than male characters to
be shown in revealing clothing in family films (18.6% vs. 2.7%). In children’s television
episodes, the See Jane TV study [10] found that female characters were nearly three times more
likely to be shown in revealing clothing. Both studies also discovered that female characters
were more likely to be shown partially nude and visually or verbally objectified than male
characters. Additionally, in children’s television episodes, female characters were more likely
to be shown in relationships than male characters (8.4% vs. 6.2%).
Gender stereotypes extend even beyond appearance in children’s media, to their leadership
capabilities and occupations. Studies from the Geena Davis Institute [9,10] found that male
characters were more likely than females to be shown in leadership positions (46.4% vs.
41.5%) in family films, however there were no differences found in children’s television
episodes. When it comes to occupations, stereotypes about gender roles appear to be reinforced
in family films again. Female characters were more likely to be shown without an occupation
(26.4%) than male characters (16.9%) in family films. In children’s television episodes, female
and male characters were equally likely to be shown with occupations (80.0% vs. 78.6%) [10].
There is an interesting contrast present between family films and children’s television episodes.
In the family films, females and males were equally likely to be depicted in STEM positions while
they were outnumbered 2-to-1 in television episodes. The overt stereotypical roles given to
female characters led to the development of our next set of hypotheses:
H4: Female characters in the main gang have more romantic links than male main
gang members.
H5: Female characters in the main gang have more familial links than male main
gang members.
H6: Female characters are more likely to be shown in ‘sexy’ clothing in male-led
films than in female-led films.
With female characters being sorely underrepresented in children’s media, it is not surprising
that they account for a smaller portion of speaking roles. Lauzen [11] found that females
accounted for only 34% of all speaking characters in the top-grossing films from 2019. She
found that male characters appeared twice as often as female characters and accounted for 66%
of the total speaking characters.
Using the Geena Davis Inclusive Quotient (GD-IQ), researchers in the See Jane studies were able
to measure the screen and speaking time of characters. Analyzing family films, female
characters accounted for 39.2% of the speaking time and 42.6% of the screen time. In children’s
television episodes, females were actually found to be in the majority, accounting for 58.8% of
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the speaking time and 58.7% of the screen time. This prior research led to our next two
hypotheses:
H7: Male characters have more speaking roles than females.
H8: Male characters fill most of the speaking roles in male-led films but are equal
in number to females in female-led films.
Despite popular belief, research indicates that the gender of the protagonist is not the major
influence on box office grosses. Both Lauzen [13] and the Geena Davis Institute [9] attribute
box office returns to distribution, marketing, and production costs, that is, the films’ budget is
the key factor. Films with male leads do tend to have higher box office grosses. In 2019, male- led family films grossed significantly more than female-led films on average [9]. Female-led
films trailed close behind; in fact from 2015 to 2017, female-led films generated more domestic
gross than male-led films. It is not the gender of the lead that prevents larger grosses. Female- led films have had lower budgets [13] and as a result, open on fewer screens and stay in theaters
for less time. This led to our next three hypotheses:
H9: Male-led films make more money than female-led films.
H10: As total film theater gross increases, the number of speaking roles given to
female characters decreases.
H11: Films with women writers make less money than films with male writers.
Lauzen [14] assessed the percentage of women working behind-the-scenes on the top-100 and
top-250 films of 2020 in the United States. This study has tracked women’s employment on the
top films for 23 years. Overall, women accounted for 23% of all behind-the-scenes workers
including directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and cinematographers.
The percentage of women working behind-the-scenes has only increased six percentage points
since 1998. Women account for only 17% of all writers working on the top-250 films and 12%
in the top-100 films. Films employing a female director tend to employ higher rates of female
writers, editors, and composers. Interest in how the gender of the writers for these films affects
representation in films led to the development of our final three hypotheses:
H12: Female-led films have a greater percentage of women writers than male-led
films.
H13: Films with a greater percentage of women writers have more female speaking
roles.
H14: Films with a greater percentage of women writers have more female
characters with jobs.
METHODS
The data gathered for this content analysis consisted of the 150 top-grossing animated films
released from 1990-2020. The lifetime theater grosses were adjusted for inflation using 2019
U.S. dollars and based on the amount of money the film made in North American theaters as a
first-run film.
Film information was downloaded from the website boxofficemojo.com on May 25, 2020. All of
the films listed were deemed appropriate for children viewers based on their ratings of G, PG,
or PG-13. Any movies with a rating above PG-13, such as Sausage Party (2016) were replaced
in the dataset. These animated films were produced by nine separate film studios with a
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Hare, S. C., & Benham, M. (2021). Life According to Popular Children’s Films. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(6). 10-21.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10228
majority coming out of Hollywood studios, but British and Japanese animation studios were
also represented.
Coding for each film was conducted by research assistants individually before joining together
to refine the codebook and compare their results for reliability. Operational definitions of the
variables contained in the codebook were refined based on the combined assessments of
researchers until there was a consistent and high level of inter-coder reliability. Then the films
were recoded using the modified and updated codebook definitions.
The lead character of each film was defined as the character whose story or journey was the
main focus of the film. The gender of the lead was coded as either male (Chicken Little, 2005),
female (Frozen, 2013), or when there was both a male and female lead, both (Storks, 2016). If
there were two male leads or two female leads, they were simply coded as male or female.
Characters within the ‘main gang’ were defined as those who were with the lead character for
most of the film. They were the characters who accompanied the main character for the
duration of his/her journey or quest. The sex of the main gang characters was coded as male or
female. If sex could not be determined or if the character was there but was not an active
participant in the lead’s journey, such as a baby, they were not included in the analysis.
Both romantic and familial links of the main characters were noted. Characters were considered
to be romantically linked if they were in a relationship by the end of the movie. Characters who
lost their partners early on (Finding Nemo, 2003) were not coded as romantically linked.
Familial links of the main characters were defined as family members or those who refer to
each other as family. Friendships were not included as familial links, even if they acted like a
family would. Only traditional family structures such as parents, siblings, and grandparents
were included but these structures included family members gained by adoption or marriage.
The sex of characters with speaking roles was recorded. Characters were coded as having a
speaking role if they were either referred to by name or spoke at least one word onscreen. The
character had to speak distinctly by themselves onscreen to be included, but it did not have to
be in the English language. Characters who sang or shouted in a group were not considered
speaking characters. Once the character was determined to have a speaking role, the sex of the
character was then recorded.
The occupation or social role of all characters with speaking roles was recorded. Their job/role
had to occur outside of the home. If the character discussed having a job, was in a work uniform,
or is witnessed at work, they were coded as having a job.
The names and genders of writers for each film were retrieved from film credits and websites
such as IMDbPro, inBaseline, Freebase.com, and Wikipedia. The gender of the writers was
confirmed by further investigation based upon photographs or personal pronouns. Anyone
with a credited writing capacity in relation to the film was included, from author, screenwriters,
authors of source material, and writers.