Many of Disney movies have been criticized for perpetuating traditional gender stereotypes which constrain opportunities for children at large. Its recent characters have also incurred heated discussions on gender portrayal. Moreover, stereotypes of gender roles, developed early on, can exert an immediate impact on individuals' behaviors and…

Four recent movies, "Hidden Figures," "The Zookeeper's Wife," "Their Finest," and "Colossal" exemplify a new cultural version of the movie heroine. This version combines feminism with commitment to solving an overwhelming problem. These heroines, thus, display the character virtues of Wonder Woman and Mrs.…

Cultural stories provide us with a repertoire of narratives through which we interpret and construct our understandings of the world, including our gendered understandings of the early childhood teacher. Through her notion of "écriture feminine", Cixous [1976. "The Laugh of the Medusa." Trans K. Cohen and P. Cohen. "Signs:…

In this article, we discuss a media discussion group for female students with disabilities, which we created and facilitated using fairy tales to discuss and critique gender norms. Disability was not the primary focus for our media sessions; however, participants occasionally extended dialogue to include intersections between disability and…

This paper examines the popular representation of childcare in North America. The author argues that the influence of popular culture on society's beliefs about childcare is an unexamined area that should be addressed as part of the larger project to improve the status of childcare educators in North America and internationally. Through the…

On a June, summer day at Albion College, Byron Stokes and Dudleigh Vernor, two undergraduate members of the local chapter of Sigma Chi fraternity, sat down at the college organ in Dickie Hall and coined the most famous song in fraternity history, "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" ("The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi," n.d.a). The tune…

The concept of gender stereotypes permeates the lives of youth in the United States. This article provides background information and rationale for incorporating gender stereotype analysis into family and consumer sciences (FCS) coursework. The critical analysis of gender stereotypes includes numerous activities and assessments that encourage…

Students enter college with preconceived ideas about what their experience of college life will be like. Since the first Hollywood film about college, movies have contributed to society's perceptions of what it means to be a college student. Contrary to the images promoted by higher education marketing departments, Hollywood's portrayals…

When students enter college classrooms for the first time they inevitably have preconceived images of professors. According to research on student evaluations of teaching, these preconceptions have important implications in college classrooms. This study explores one avenue through which these preconceptions are perpetuated--popular film. Using…

During the late twentieth century, Kanaka Maoli have struggled to push back against these representations, offering a rewriting of Hawaiian history, quite literally. Infused by Hawaiian nationalism and a growing library of works that investigate the naturalization of American colonialism in Hawai'i, innovative Kanaka Maoli representations in the…

The novel "Loving Pedro Infante" by Chicana writer Denise Chavez provides an insightful transcultural feminist critique of Golden Age Mexican cinema culture through a careful examination of gender roles. In the novel, the reception of Pedro Infante's films by spectators bridges generations and national spaces and leads to the formation…

Much American popular culture has often been criticized for its negative portrayals of females and its potentially harmful influence on young children. However, there are insufficient studies about American young girls' actual understanding of these female representations. Specifically, the perspectives of young immigrant girls have hardly been…

Anticipatory organizational socialization begins in childhood as girls and boys are exposed to various messages from a range of sources. One of these sources is the film. The following study examines eighteen films, released between 2000 and early 2004, targeting teenage girls to explore messages that they receive about gender and possible…

Discusses the demythologizing of the film hero during the 1970s; analyzes the heroes and heroines in specific films as they exemplify new images and trends in characterization. (MAI)

This document presents an executive summary of a study that examined messages sent to adolescent girls (ages 10 to 17) across 6 types of media most heavily used by adolescent girls: television, movies, magazines, music videos, television commercials, and magazine advertisements. The study asked what messages are sent about gender roles--primarily…