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The Representation Count

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The ways that cartoons represent different genders, gender roles and stereotypes, sexualities, and relationships are an easy way to have numerical counts of what is working, what is positive, and what is negative and not working. Here are my counts, with complete lists of descriptions.

Instances of Gender Non-Conformity

Rugrats
1 – Phil and Chuckie in Dresses

I'm counting the gender nonconformity in Rugrats as only one event: the moment where Phil and Chuckie first put on the dresses. This is really the only instance of blatant gender nonconformity in the episode, considering the whole rest of the episode is about the consequences of this one action nonconformity.

Hey Arnold!
2 – Helga’s Personality, Harold Gets A Makeover

Similar to the Rugrats episode above I'm only counting two instances of nonconformity in this episode. Helga’s entire characterization is technically subverting the gender norms that girls are quiet and pleasant and non-confrontational, but at risk of trying to count every time she appears on-screen, I’m counting her presence as a character as one instance. I'm also counting the moment where the girls capture Harold and give him a makeover even though that's non-consensual and overly aggressive. This episode is also largely about conforming to gender norms versus subverting or dismantling them.

SpongeBob SquarePants
1 – SpongeBob Takes Mom Role

Unfortunately, this episode of SpongeBob also deals largely with conforming to gender norms and bizarrely, in this scenario, it's about conforming to gender roles that don't match one’s own gender. I could only find reason to count the moment where SpongeBob decides to take on the role of a mom, rather than every other instance where Patrick refers to himself as a dad. Other than that, the parenting rules are pretty evenly distributed and not heavily gendered.

As Told By Ginger
3 – Hoodsey’s Emotional Sensitivity, Hoodsey’s Belief in Chastity, Hoodsey’s Body Issues

As Told By Ginger has a few more than the others. I've counted Hoodsey’s emotional openness because it is just so outside of the norm for portrayals of boys, and especially of boys in the turbulent era of pre-teen-hood. His belief in chastity and his body issues are each huge deviations from gender norms, which likely stem from his emotional sensitivity. Usually a concern with modesty is gendered as a heavily feminine, so seeing a boy being able to be open with his own insecurities actually extremely refreshing.

The Fairly OddParents
6 – Timmy Liking Soap Operas, Timmy Hating Dead Frog, Trixie Liking Comics, Trixie Liking Dead Frogs, Veronica In The Boys’ Bathroom, Timmy at Salon

The Fairly OddParents shockingly comes in with the most instances of gender nonconformity. Timmy liking soap operas is an obvious subversion of gender norms, as he is mocked for it by his own friends. Timmy hating dead frogs and Trixie liking dead frogs are each presented as kind of a joke; it's funny that Timmy, being a boy, would be grossed out by a frog, and it's even funnier that Trixie, a girl, would like it. But again, it's pretty blatantly going against gender norms, and that’s a step toward success in my book. Trixie liking comics is one of the most pivotal moments in the episode because it helps Timmy realize that interests transcend gender boundaries. The moment that Veronica is found in the boys bathroom is impactful because it puts into perspective our modern debate about bathrooms as heavily gendered spaces. I doubt The Fairly OddParents was going for this kind of impact but especially in light of the current panic over where transgender people or people with a certain gendered appearance can go to the bathroom, it's relevant and important. And Timmy going to the salon is similarly presented as the punchline to a joke, but it's an example of boys going to spaces that are coded feminine and becoming more comfortable with themselves as they subvert gender norms.

TOTAL: 13

Instances of Punishment

Where the concept of gender nonconformity is kind of self-explanatory, I feel as though I need to explain what I mean by instances of social punishment. What I'm looking for here are examples where characters act out an instance of gender nonconformity, and there exists some kind of retaliation by other characters against them. This can exist in the form of a mean comment, through social isolation or ridicule, all the way up to an act of violence. My motivation for counting these instances of punishment is to record how often a character is “taught a lesson” for deviating from gender norms. Teaching children that by acting outside of the gender stereotypes that apply to their own gender is essentially teaching children that any kind of deviation will be met with punishment. and it is much less likely that children will be encouraged to explore their own identities. Part of where I see success in portrayals of different genders in cartoons is eliminating these instances of punishment.

Rugrats
2 – Lil Lecturing, Boys Beating Them Up

The first instance of gender punishment in this episode is when the boys show interest in wearing dresses and Lil immediately shuts them down and says that dresses are for girls and pants are for boys. She then justifies this by saying that it's because girls are “good” and boys are “bad,” which delivers an intense message about the gendering of neutral objects like clothes. The second instance of punishment is much more literal. When Phil and Chuckie arrive at the park with their parents, two boy toddlers approached them and start offering them snacks and vying for their attention. It becomes quickly apparent that these two boys think that Chuckie and Phil are girls because they're wearing skirts. But when these two boys find out that their potential love interests are actually also boys, the toddlers respond with anger and decide that they have to beat up Chuckie and Phil in retaliation. This is scarily reminiscent of the concept of “lying” about gender, and the anger that some people can feel when they discover a partner’s gender or perceived gender doesn’t match their physiology. This concept of folks tricking other folks about what gender they are has dangerous real world consequences; transgender folks are often at risk of physical harm by people who feel threatened by misinterpreted gender, and even though I doubt this is what Rugrats was going for, it's impossible not to read it this way as a gender scholar.

Hey Arnold!
4 – No Invite to the Party, Boys Tease Her, Clerk Embarrasses Her, Forcible Makeover on Harold

Most of these instances are extremely straightforward. Helga is not invited to an all-girls party because she is not feminine enough, and the boys tease her for the same reason. The clerk embarrasses Helga at the store as she's buying a teen magazine because Helga does not look like the kind of hyperfeminine girl who would enjoy a fashion magazine. And when the girls give Harold a forcible makeover, they are punishing him with gender nonconformity. That is, they are making him engage in a traditionally feminine behavior as a way to punish him, which is so perplexing that I had to include it here.

SpongeBob SquarePants
1 – SpongeBob Does All the Work

There's only one instance here and it is a little bit difficult to articulate. Essentially, SpongeBob's instance of gender nonconformity is when he, as a man, decides that he wants to take on the role of being the mother to the scallop (equivalent of a baby bird) that he and Patrick adopt. And when SpongeBob takes on the role of mother instead of the role of father, he is left to do all of the housework and childcare. He is punished by Patrick's lack of participation in home life simply by assuming the mantle of femininity.

As Told By Ginger
2 – Hoodsey Teased by Coach, Hoodsey Teased by Other Boys

These instances are also straightforward. Hoodsey is teased by both his coach and the other boys in his gym class for having the emotional sensitivity that leads him to be self-conscious about his body.

The Fairly OddParents
3 – Teased by Other Boys, Isolated by Other Girls, Veronica Yelled At by Boys

Timmy is teased by the other boys for his interest in soap operas, a direct and open instance of his subverting gender norms and then being reprimanded socially for it. Trixie Tang disguises herself as a boy to go to the comic book store because she knows that she will be isolated by other girls if she shows interest in things that are not traditionally feminine. When Veronica is discovered in the boys bathroom, Chester and AJ yell at her in alarm because she has entered a space that is "not for her" by virtue of her gender.

TOTAL: 12

Instances of Gender Stereotyping

Rugrats – 9

Hey Arnold! – 11

SpongeBob SquarePants – 6

As Told By Ginger – 5

The Fairly OddParents – 14

TOTAL: 45

Heterosexual Relationships

There were actually fewer heterosexual relationships among all of the shows than I had anticipated. In Rugrats there are only two examples that are shown on screen: two married couples, Betty and Howard and Didi and Stu. On Hey Arnold! there is only one heterosexual relationship and it is only implied, through Helga’s interest in Arnold. SpongeBob and As Told By Ginger each have zero heterosexual relationships on screen, although both of these shows do have heterosexual relationships at some point throughout the series. They're just not present in these episodes. In The Fairly OddParents there were two implied heterosexual relationships; one is Timmy and Trixie and the other is Cosmo and Wanda.

Rugrats: 2

Hey Arnold!: 1

SpongeBob SquarePants: 0

As Told By Ginger: 0

The Fairly OddParents: 2

TOTAL: 5

Blurred Relationships

I included the category of queer relationships on my graph, of which I found none. I only counted as queer relationships those relationships that are blatantly discussed as folks who are not of opposite genders or who are openly of queer identity being in relationships. There are no instances of that in these episodes.

Additionally, I created the category for blurred relationships because I discovered while categorizing these relationships that there are many instances of characters having romantic interest in other characters where it was difficult to categorize the gender or perceived gender of one or more parties.

Rugrats: 2

I counted the romantic interest between the two boys at the park and Phil and Chuckie as undefined because it's difficult to categorize the intentions of the romantic interest here. The two strangers openly admit that they think that Phil and Chuckie are girls, so in that case it's a situation of mistaken identity. But Phil and Chuckie are completely confident in and aware of their own identities as boys. So does this count as unintentional homosexual interest? Or is it intended heterosexual interest that just turned out to be mistaken? I can't definitively say.
 

Hey Arnold!: 0

SpongeBob SquarePants: 1

The relationship between SpongeBob and Patrick in this episode is too complicated and too underexplored in canon to define as only heterosexual or homosexual. The two aren't necessarily expressing any kind of romantic interest in each other, but their decision to co-parent within the traditional roles of mom and dad, which are heavily embedded in heterosexual norms, imply some kind of heterosexual intention. But Spongebob and Patrick are two men. So this relationship transcends categorization as one or the other.
 

As Told By Ginger: 0

The Fairly OddParents: 1

Timmy Turner has a crush on Trixie Tang throughout the entire run of The Fairly OddParents. And for pretty much every other episode, I would define that interest as firmly heterosexual, as Timmy is a boy and Trixie is a girl. But during this episode Timmy spends a lot of time with Trixie after being magically transformed into a girl. So the question that arises is: does Timmy's transformation into a girl render his interest in her strictly platonic? Or is he still interested in Trixie even when physically he has become a girl? Does that make his interest homosexual? Answering that question involves defining a lot of vague and multifaceted concepts about how one's appearance, one’s gender identity, and one’s own interpretation of their sexuality interact, all within a fictional universe where magical fairies exist, so I'm not comfortable putting a definition on this relationship.
 

TOTAL: 4

So what’s common?

(Lillard; Alexander)

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  1. "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!": GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN NICKELODEON CARTOONS Rebecca Grenier

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