Gender Stereotypes of Scientist Characters in Television Programs Popular Among Middle School-Aged Children

This study examined gender stereotyping in portrayals of scientist characters in television programs popular among middle school-aged children. The following 14 television programs were analyzed: Bill Nye the Science Guy, CSI, CSI- Miami, CSI-New York, Danny Phantom, Dexter’s Laboratory, DragonflyTV, Friends, Kim Possible, MythBusters, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, The Simpsons, and The X Files. Male scientist characters were found to be both more prevalent than female scientist characters and also found to be present in more scenes; and they were more likely to be shown with the masculine attributes or traits of independence, athleticism, and dominance. Female scientist characters were not more likely than male scientist characters to be shown with the traditional feminine attributes of dependency, caring, and romantic. Male and female characters were equally likely to be portrayed in high-status scientific professional roles. This study also analyzed demographic and lifestyle variables for the scientist characters. The implications of the findings on middle school-aged children’s perceptions of scientists and in cultivating girls’ future interest in science careers are discussed.

Publisher: Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Marriott Downtown, Chicago, IL, Aug 06, 2008
Year of Publication: 2008