The Smurfette Principle By Katah Pollitt

Gender is a sociological idea, in which it is not based on biology. While there is some biological differences between the sexes, the “meaning” of being male or female is based on social norms. Like race, these “biological” differences provided a system of enabling inequality between the sexes. History offers many examples of the gender norms over time. Women, for centuries, are few as the homemakers and often viewed as intelligent. Despite living in the twentieth century with greater equality, one does not need to go far to see how society and media influence our perception of gender. Advertisements in various media persuade its audience to buying their products. However, the means of attracting and persuading the audience can have underlying messages. Even in entertainment for young girls these underlying messages are prevalent. One example is the popular film, The Little Mermaid, in which the main protagonist is a young female. The protagonist gave up her identity to satisfy her lover. Even traditional gender roles are at work; the film showed young girls that to be happy and successful one had to find a husband and must relinquished one’s identity (Wood 1994). The generalized perception of male and female are polar opposites. Males are viewed as masculine, strong, authoritative, powerful, and devoid of emotions. Females are viewed as beauty, fragile, nurturing, emotional and sole purpose is to please men. These ideas can lead to sexism, which can have negative effects on

The Big Bang Theory has been on CBS television since September 24, 2007. The premise of the show revolves around two brilliant physicists who work together at Cal Tec: Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. They are not only colleges but also roommates and best friends. Sheldon is eccentric and introverted while struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder and unique, yet very scientific, approach to the world. Leonard is a combination of the extrovert personality and introvert personality. He keeps his friends close and tries to maintain peace but is not always comfortable in confrontational situations and is the leader of the group. They are surrounded by mostly likeminded friends’ mechanical engineer Howard Wolowitz, and astrophysicist

In the article “TV’s Negative Influence on Kids Reaffirmed” by Jeffrey M. McCall, he addresses the issue of how TV has a negative influence on children. McCall states that young children and toddler’s cognitive ability do not develop as well when they have a television in the background while they are playing and interacting. McCall also argues that TV has a very influential role in the teenage pregnancy rate and how early teens become sexually active. To further prove his point, McCall proclaims that children and teens that are exposed to large amounts of television and video games become socially awkward and have issues interacting in society. McCall also says that the networks are rating their own programs carelessly, which is leading to shows that should be restricted by a V-chip being watched by children, rendering the restricting system null and void.

The average American child watches 20 hours of television per week, that is 5,000 hours before first grade. Most children between the ages of 3-6 years old can even turn on the television and start a DVD by themselves. I am guilty of allowing my children more TV time then they should have, but I guess that is because I enjoy watching it myself. There are many hidden messages in children’s shows that I was oblivious to until now. For instance, in the show “Rugrats” Charlotte Pickles, Angelica’s mom never had time for her, always on the phone and working. Ethnic stereotyping is another message sent in Speedy Gonzalez’s cousin Slow Poke Rodriguez which is lazy, slow, and dim witted. Morality is also affected by these shows. Most every little boy

Our society seems to have a lot of very stereotypical misconceptions about boys and girls and the role they are expected to play. Media has a pivotal role to play in this front concerning the idea of defining and framing gender. Media consumers transform the messages in that and make demeanors with

* Television viewing creates the concept of gender-role and racial stereotypes in children, as they start considering it as very natural phenomena. Heroic acts are expected out of males, while women are displayed as objects and less powerful.

It is very well known to all that media is a big part of society today. It influenced how we see ourselves and the world to some extent. There are different types of media that is offered today, for example: TV, movies, radio, and newspapers. Within the different forms of media, women and men are represented in a certain way, all with different characteristics. In this essay, I will argue that there is similar gender stereotypes presented in the shows Modern Family and Every Body Loves Raymond, and how they differ from the show Full House.

Children television programs have been around for decades, designed to entertain and educate the targeted audience. These programs are extremely popular among children, typically last twenty to thirty minutes, are scheduled between the hours of 7:00 a.m. – 10: 00 p.m., and are aired daily on a weekly basis. The commercials that air in-between the breaks of each program are also marketed towards and specifically made for children. Even though the main purpose of children television programs is to entertain, inform, and educate, there are a variety of stereotypes that can be found within some of these children shows. Some of these stereotypes have to do with ethnicity and gender. After carefully watching and analyzing a few of these children

In Kantha Pollitt 1991 article “The Smurfette Principle” she makes the argument that, like Smurfette who is surrounded entirely by only male characters, the majority of media in the United States is centered on male characters and the women and girls in those images are almost entirely supporting characters. To drive this point home she states, “Take a look at the kids’ section of your local video store. You’ll find that features starring boys, and usually aimed at them, account for 9 out of 10 offerings.”(Pollitt, 1991) In other words, despite women (and girls) comprising about half of the U. S. population, about 90% of the media available for children is geared almost directly towards boys. Additionally, when discussing the content of much of what is available, she states, “Boys define the group, its story, and its code of

In their pieces on the Smurfette principle, Pollitt and Ellis both discuss the idea that gender representations have intense effects on the children who absorb certain types of popular entertainment. Although we are hesitant to accept it, we are all influenced by the media in a very powerful way. Whether it be through TV shows, billboards, movies or the news. One thing that we commonly wonder about is if the adult female population is as influenced by the stereotyped gender roles present on TV or are we shaped at a young age and carry that perspective with us throughout our lives. This Smurfette principle has been around for almost two decades. It was introduced by Katha Pollitt and is unfortunately still present in our current 21st

Over time the image of a family on television has changed, these changes highlight important issues in society - which can be seen through the comparison of Leave-It-To-Beaver and Modern Family. One of the main issues portrayed significantly is gender roles. In the 1950s, the World War 2 aftermath encouraged the traditional gender roles to be put back using sitcoms such as Leave-It-To-Beaver, which heavily highlights gender roles. On the other hand, 2000s family portrayal on television began to defy these ideals through switching the otherwise established roles of the mother and father in a family.

Television, since its inception, has had a knack at being a mirror for the current state of society. Through this medium, one is easily able to spot the changes our culture has gone through since TV was first created. One example of this social shift, is that of the woman's role in television starting from the 50’s to the present. In 1950’s

In the future, I hope to expand on many of themes interrogated in this dissertation and to build on the initial research conducted for this project. Several of these chapters suggest avenues for further studies. For example. This project lays the groundwork for further research into the representation of boys on Disney Channel, however, since other than Zach and Cody, tween boys shows were not existent, the unofficial tween boy channel, a Disney spin-off called Disney XD should be examined. Originally meant as a subchannel for Disney Channel that focused on tweens 24/7, the channel has unofficially become geared towards tween boys. While a more independent girl has emerged on Disney, girls appearing on Disney XD (which is minor supporting

According to the Pollit’s short essay the “Smurfette principle” is a group of male buddies will be emphasized by an only female, stereotypically defined.

Television is affecting childhood on many different levels. “Many parents have misgivings about the influence of television” states Marie Winn author of “The End of Play”. (Winn 76) One concern is the introduction of adult issues. Marie Winn’s article reflects on what children are being exposed to. Stating today’s “Counterculture kids were [are] casually exposed to all sorts of adult matters-drug taking, sexual intercourse”. (Winn 77) She then points out the “interest in boy-girl interactions is replacing play in preadolescents”. (Winn 78)