Family portrait taken at 2002 census day, The Guar...
Family portrait taken at 2002 census day, The Guardian
Date: January 1, 1970
SHARE:
The cartoon portrays the family in Tanzania seven years after the 1995 Beijing Conference as being female-dominated, rather than female-headed.
The cartoon portrays the family in Tanzania seven years after the 1995 Beijing Conference as being female-dominated, rather than female-headed.
This article may be used to:
- Explore the roles ascribed to women and men – subtle gender stereotypes.
Trainer’s notes
Stereotypes
The cartoon stereotypes women who went to
The image also subtlety reinforces the stereotype of the traditional ‘nuclear’ family with the father as head of household, mother and children, as the norm. It does not take into account the reality of female-headed households, single-parent households, or homes which include the extended family.
Portrayal
The woman in the image is depicted as looming large and overbearing to characterize her as domineering. The daughter is dressed in nun’s clothing, and it is inferred by her dress that she has chosen not to marry and to opt for a different approach to gender activism. The son is non-descript – not assuming the role of head of the household since the father is not there – and under the command of the mother.
Messages on gender and gender equality
The image is one form that backlash against the fight for gender equality can take in the media.
The message on the T-shirt conveys the idea that Tanzanian women gained nothing out of the Beijing Conference except souvenirs such as a t-shirt. The Beijing Conference therefore is depicted as a ‘talk shop’ and women’s actions since it, as fruitless efforts to change their lives, leaving them disillusioned.
The Fourth World Conference is portrayed as an event that was for and about women, and the cartoonist reduces its significance to no more than a t-shirt.
The fight for gender equality is portrayed as leading to the break-up of the family. Unequal gender power relations are reinforced, because the cartoon conveys the message that without anyone wearing the pants, the family is dysfunctional when women are in control.
Cartoons are a powerful medium for influencing attitudes of the young and old in a society. They combine the media’s role of entertainment with the individual gender prejudices and biases of the cartoonist, and of the editors who pass it for publication, to send subliminal messages which have a profound influence on how women and men, girls and boys see their roles. They also illustrate how the media’s role of entertainment is not as innocent as making people laugh.
Training exercise
Exercise one: Study the cartoon and discuss the following
1. What role has the image ascribed to women? What role is ascribed to men?
2. How is the young girl portrayed?
3. How is the boy portrayed?
4. What message does the cartoon send on the family after
5. What message is conveyed on gender equality and the fight for women’s rights?
6. What stereotypes are reinforced by the cartoon?
Download : Family portrait taken at 2002
Connect with us
Comment on Family portrait taken at 2002 census day, The Guardian