Girl Power

I recently read a book review for Susan J. Douglas’ “Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work is Done.” The book is an essay intended to prove how the current portrayal of women in media has led to the erroneous impression that equality of the sexes has finally been achieved. Although the constant promotion of stereotypes for a variety of groups, including immigrants, African-Americans and women, by different media outlets is no secret, this review got me thinking about how misrepresentation of minority groups can lead to terror, genocide and human right violations.

Two simple examples illustrate my point. On the one hand, the Disney classic Aladdin shows the beautiful, strong and brave Princess Jasmine defeating all rules to find love. Tired of her royal life as a Sultan’s daughter, Jasmine goes to Aladdin’s rescue. At the end of the movie, the rules are changed so Jasmine and Aladdin can get married. Taking into consideration that women in Kuwait, the Arab emirate with the highest Human Development Index (HDI), were granted the right to vote less than five years ago, I truly believe this is a misleading portrayal of the reality not only of women in the Arab world but also around the world. According to a report produced by Connecticut State University, “out of over 180 countries, only 11 have elected women heads of state.” In other words, women are highly underrepresented in politics, which means that they do not often get to bring about and see changes positively affecting them.

My second example is The Jetsons. The Hanna-Barbera classic set in year 2062 shows both women in the family, Jane, the mother, and Judy, the oldest daughter, with very similar hobbies: shopping and fashion. Furthermore, they are constantly outsmarting George, the breadwinner, which puts them in a position of power. Statistics from the U.S. Census show that, as of 2001, 42% of all households have two income earners and women account for 47% of the labor force, far from the 2062 family roles predicted by Hanna-Barbera.

While both examples might sound outdated, they are the two popular cartoons I grew up with; cartoons with which young adults who are now part of the labor force and the electorate grew up with. Why is this important? Because we are the ones now affecting foreign policy; we are now hiring managers; and we are now parents socializing our offspring into our reality. I am not suggesting that cartoons for nine-year-olds in which images from the Holocaust or Darfur be created and shown to youth. However, it is necessary to stop false images of the current situation of women around the world.

As Douglas notes, “in 2007, the top five jobs for women were secretary, nurse, elementary and middle school teacher, cashier and retail salesperson. Women's median salary is $36,000 — 23 percent less than their male counterparts.” We still have a long way to go to achieve equal rights for men and women and an even longer one to stop terror against women in Juarez, violation of human rights of women in Congo, and genocide affecting Darfur. Cartoons should use their widespread voice to generate some level of awareness.