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Culture Documents
ABSTRACT
In recent years, Disney Channel has grown more and more popular among
teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City. Since teenagers are in the stage of life when they are
developing their own sense of identity, they are vulnerable and easily influenced by the
media. Therefore, our research paper aims to figure out how HCMC teenagers perceive
explore the messages of gender role conveyed in the shows that are currently very
Then, based on the survey that we conduct among teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City,
we find out how actively teenagers in HCMC engage in perceiving gender role
stereotypes shown on Disney Channel and examine how teenagers in HCMC respond to
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to Ms. Phan
Thi Kim Loan, our supervisor, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the
initial to the final stage enabled us to develop the understanding on the subject.
We are also indebted to the teenagers of both sexes in Ho Chi Minh City for their
enthusiastic participations in taking our survey. Their contribution had helped us a great
Finally, it is an honor of us to send our regards and blessings to our families and
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................ ii
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................... v
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
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APPENDIX 1 ........................................................................................................... 50
APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................... 52
APPENDIX 3 ........................................................................................................... 56
APPENDIX 4 ........................................................................................................... 60
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 62
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LIST OF FIGURES
9) Lily and Raven with beauty ideal of “the girl next door” ...................................... 15
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22) Love at first sight in Cinderella and High School Musical .................................. 22
31) Jim and Darling with unequal house chore sharing ............................................. 28
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LIST OF TABLES
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PART 1: INTRODUCTION
Teenagers are people who the most easily get influenced by popular culture.
Worth noticing, they are living in Disney world, in which American teenagers are
vulnerable to the images of gender role in most of Disney programs. The issue alarms us
to put a question on teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City. And this research attempts to give an
answer to it: how Ho Chi Minh City teenagers perceive gender role on Disney Channel.
II - Aims of Research
- To find out how actively teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City engage in perceiving gender
- To examine how teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City respond to messages of gender role in
Disney Channel.
- To help parents and teachers have critical views of gender role portrayed in Disney
gender role.
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Research Questions:
Our research uses qualitative and quantitative methods, which are mainly based on
secondary sources collected from various sources such as previous researches, books,
websites, articles, Disney texts, etc. We also deliver questionnaires to examine Ho Chi
- Document review
- Data collecting
- Information synthesis
- Textual analysis
- Personal observation
program for children. However, in recent years, it has grown more and more popular with
older audience. Its program currently includes original series and original movies as well
1. History1
Disney Channel was first launched on April 18, 1983 as a premium channel. At
the beginning, it only aired 16 hours a day. A year later, in April 1984, the channel
increased the program to 18 hours a day. In December 1986, they began to broadcast 24
hours a day.
In 1986, the channel debuted the musical sitcom series Kids Incorporated, which
was a big hit and has become part of the cultural lexicon. The cast of the series included
many young actors that later became stars in both music and acting such as Jennifer Love
Hewitt and Stacy Ferguson (currently known as Fergie of the band The Black Eyed
Peas). In early 1989, The All-New Mickey Mouse Club was launched. This variety
television show immediately became a hit. Like Kids Incorporated, the show also
1
Disney Channel, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 5 Dec. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Channel>.
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spawned many future stars, among them are Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Justin
Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, etc. By 1995, Disney Channel was seen in more than 8
basic cable and started to gain viewers. During this period, Disney Channel’s original
program included shows like Flash Forward, So Weird, Even Stevens, Kim Possible and
Lizzie McGuire – the show that helped launch the career of Hilary Duff.
Disney Channel began to remodel again in September 2002. It reduced the number
of prime time movie from two each night to only one. The channel also stopped
producing drama and reality show to shift focus to live-action comedies and animated
series.
In 2004, Anne Sweeney took control of Disney-ABC Television Group and was
very successful in turning Disney Channel into “the major profit driver in the company”.
By 2008, the Channel “has been adding a million viewers a month—every month—for
the last five years," and has become “the greatest teen-star incubator since the NBA
stopped drafting high schoolers.” Sweeney’s strategy was to “discover, nurture, and
aggressively cross-promote teen music stars whose style and image were carefully
targeted to pre-teenagers and teenagers.” Around the same time, the channel began to
gain more popularity as well as viewers outside its main target audience demographic,
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One notable event of Disney Channel in this period was the release of its first
musical made-for-cable movie, The Cheetah Girls, in 2003. The movie received 84
million viewers worldwide and led to the creation of other successful music-themed
programs like the original movie High School Musical and the original series Hannah
Montana. Other successful programs of this era were That’s So Raven (2005) – the
highest-rated series of the network since it became basic cable; the hit original movie
High School Musical in 2006; and in the same year the original series Hannah Montana,
the hit show that launched the career of one of Disney Channel’s biggest stars Miley
Cyrus.
In 2007, Disney Channel reduced the number of original movie and series
premieres to four Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOM) and two Disney Channel
Original Series premiering each year. The most successful DCOM in that year was High
School Musical 2, the second movie in the phenomenal trilogy High School Musical,
In 2009, two new series were launched: Sonny with a Chance and JONAS. New
movies in 2009 were: Dadnapped, Hatching Pete, Princess Protection Program, and
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. These four original movies each starred at least
two stars from Disney Channel's original series. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
was the highest-rated cable program of 2009 (excluding sporting events) with 11.4
million viewers. The crossover special Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana
(involving Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana) was
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also a big hit, beating out its competition on the night of its premiere with 9.1 million
viewers.
In 2010, the channel launched the first original sitcom intentionally targeted at
family audiences, Good Luck Charlie; as well as the final season of Hannah Montana
which was renamed Hannah Montana Forever and the series Jonas L.A.
In the May 2010 Nielsen ratings, Disney Channel ranked #1 for the 63rd
consecutive month in the Kids 6-11 demographic and for the 62nd straight month among
Tweens 9-14. Disney Channel is also the second most watched cable channel during
primetime.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the month of May 2010 had finished as
Disney Channel’s most-watched May in the network's history with an average of 1.5
million viewers among Total Viewers, along with 525,000 viewers with a 2.1 rating share
among Kids 6-11 and 459,000 viewers with a 1.9 rating share among Tweens 6-9; 9-15.
First-run episodes of The Suite Life on Deck, Wizards of Waverly Place and Good Luck
Charlie earned six of television’s top 10 telecasts that month in key child demographics,
with Phineas and Ferb ranked as the #1 animated series on TV among Kids 6-11 and
As we can see, more than two decades since it first launch in 1983, Disney
Channel has become the top channel in children and teenagers program. Not only are
their shows popular among young viewers, they are also the stepping stones for many
famous movie and music idols that have great influence on many young people like
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Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, etc. That is the indicators of how
of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam2. In two years since its launch in May 2005, Disney
Channel has increased its Vietnamese subtitling from 10% to 70% of its program and it is
Social learning theory suggests that individuals may model behavior based on
available role models4. The process of modeling includes several steps. The first step is
attention. Events that are distinctive, positive, simple and prevalent will be more likely to
be modeled. Characteristic of viewers like attention span or their personal preference will
affect their attention. The next step is retention, which is accomplished by “symbolic
necessary to note that retention does not mean the viewer will reenact the event.
Motivational process and other factors will determine this. To examine the possibility of
the event being carried out, we should understand two types of viewing: instrumental
2
Disney Channel Asia, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 5 Dec. 2010
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Channel_Asia>.
3
Disney Channel Expands Its Audience Reach in Vietnam, Free Online Library, 5 Dec. 2010
<http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Disney+Channel+Expands+Its+Audience+Reach+in+Vietnam.-a0165724076>.
4
Britney Lynn Hibbeler, Exploring representations of masculinity in Disney animated feature films (2009)
11<http://repository.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-08-7023/HIBBELER-
THESIS.pdf?sequence=1>.
5
Hibbeler 12
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the program and involves in a great degree of selectivity. Since the goal of this type of
viewing is to seek information, viewers will watch Disney film to gain information about
several topics, including gender role. 7 However, ritualistic viewing is concerned with the
entertaining content of the text and it is habitual and mindless. Most of children’s
television viewing is ritualistic. “This consumption of media for pleasure, rather than to
masculine and feminine in the form of entertainment, such as the Disney animated feature
films.”8
because those who view program with gender stereotype may be more likely to model the
stereotype being viewed. And programs on Disney Channel can provide opportunities for
this process to happen.9 Because of the great popularity of Disney Channel among
teenagers, they may be influenced by ideas of gender on the show and may internalize
Nowadays, with the rapid development of technology, media has more and more
influence and plays greater role in the life of adolescents worldwide. Media influence,
however, is not transparent but it is subtle and occurs over a long period of time.
Responsible adults like parents and teachers and even teenagers themselves may not be
6
Hibbeler 13
7
Hibbeler 13
8
Hibbeler 13
9
Hibbeler 14
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aware of the impact that media has. 10 Impact of media on adolescent can be found in
many aspects: teenagers’ ideal of beauty, violence among the youth, sex and drug use,
etc. In this research, we focus on the impact on gender role because “images having to do
with gender strike at the core of individual identity, our understanding of ourselves as
either male or female (socially defined within this society at this time) is central to our
understanding of who we are”11. The impact on this front is greater in adolescent because
they are still “in the process of learning their values and roles and developing their self-
concepts”12. In addition, they are also under the pressure of their peers, making it even
more difficult for them to resist the dominant message “perpetuated and reinforced by the
media.” All things considered, it is important to analyze the images of gender role
presented in popular cultural texts and find out how teenagers interpret and respond to
them.
IV – Summary
To summarize, teenage years are the time when people are most vulnerable to the
influences and pressure around them since they have yet to develop their own identity.
Among those influences is the message conveyed in the media, especially messages
concerning the ideal of genders. As suggested in the social learning theory, teenagers’
favorite TV characters may become some kind of role model to them and they will watch
and learn from those characters. Since Disney Channel is very popular worldwide, its
10
Victor C Strasburger, Children, Adolescents, and the Media, Current Problem in Pediatric and Adolescent Health
Care (California: Sage Publications, Inc., 2002) 54.
11
Sut Jhally, Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture, The World and I, Jul. 1990, 506-519.
12
Jean Kilbourne, The More You Subtract, the More You Add - Cutting Girls Down to Size, Can't Buy My Love:
How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. Available at
<http://www.aef.com/industry/news/data/hot_issues/1361>.
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characters are more likely to become youngsters’ role models. For that reason, we
conduct this research to see what messages conveyed in Disney Channel shows and how
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As proved by many well-known scholars and experts,13 the media have a very
Channel is not an exception. In fact, more and more researches, articles and essays have
recently paid attention to how Disney influences its viewers’ understanding as well as
socioeconomic status, this part is to make an analysis on Disney Channel texts regarding
gender role.
I - Physical Appearance
physical appearance. In fact, “physical appearance is, in and of itself, an important part of
socially; it is the societal meaning assigned to male and female.” 16 For this reason,
different expectations of physical appearance are also generated regarding femininity and
masculinity. This part, therefore, will provide us a detailed analysis on images of male
13
Such as Douglas Kellner, Jean Kilbourne, Daniel Chandler, etc. with their various books, articles and essays
regarding this topic.
<http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/TF33120/gendertv.html#A>
<http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/>
<http://jeankilbourne.com/>.
14
Christopher Wiegering Gianoli, Are Disney Movies a Negative Influence?, Associated Content, 1 Nov. 2008, 5
Dec. 2010
<http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1142336/are_disney_movies_a_negative_influence_pg2.html?cat=9>.
15
K. Deaux and L.L. Lewis, Structure of gender stereotypes: Interrelationships among components and gender
label, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, (1984) 991–1004.
16
S. Hesse-Biber and G.L. Carger, Working women in America: Split dreams (New York: Oxford University Press,
2000) 91.
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Disney Channel.
fact, almost all the females are praised for their appearance or physical beauty, as stated
by Stacy and Crystal, they are “valued for their appearance.”17 Cinderella, Sleeping
Beauty, Ariel, Snow White and other Disney main female characters are almost portrayed
by Disney to be beautiful and attractive fairy tale princesses. While Snow White’s beauty
is a response to her mother’s wish and is told by the mirror on the wall,
“Queen: Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?
Mirror: Famed is thy beauty, majesty. Behold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot
hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee.
Mirror: Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.”18
Belle is supposed to be attractive to the people around her like Gaston. In other
words, being “slender, [having] both brown hair and eyes, fair skin, blue and white
peasant dress with a white apron, blue bow in her hair, black shoes, […] yellow ball
17
Stacy L. Smith and Crystal Allene Cook, Gender Stereotypes: An Analysis of Popular Films and TV, The Geena
Davis Institute on Gender in Media (2008) 16.
18
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dir. William Cottrell et al, Walt Disney Productions, 1937.
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gown which shows her breast cleavage,” 19 (see Figure 2 in Appendix 1) she has so strong
Moreover, if with her slim figure, blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin, Cinderella
deserves the love of Prince Charming and the happy life in the palace, 20 (see Figure 3 in
Appendix 1) then it is also notable that Pocahontas’s “slender figure, black hair, brown
eyes, fairly tan skin”21 (see Figure 4 in Appendix 1) gives her two love involvements; one
is with John Smith, the other is with John Rolfe. However, no matter how differently
their beauty is described (with different skin, eye and hair color, etc.,) they are all young
ladies and have the same body figure - that is thin. In truth, despite their different
appearances, they have one thing in common – being “always stunningly beautiful,
[having] petite and slender build and evidently extreme youth.” 22 With the same body
image, they all have the beauty of disposition according to Disney, as if they “go hand in
In addition, the fact that the identical image of thinness is repeated from one main
female character to another and that it is considered beauty ideal gives an affirmation, as
Jean Kilbourne stated in many of her articles and essays on the influences of the media on
adolescents, of the so-called “obsession with thinness,” and that “thin is beautiful.”24 In
19
Belle, Disney Wiki, 5 Dec. 2010 <http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Belle>.
20
Cinderella, Disney Wiki, 5 Dec. 2010 <http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Cinderella_%28character%29>.
21
Pocahontas, Disney Wiki, 5 Dec. 2010 <http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Pocahontas_%28character%29>.
22
Mary, My answers to an interesting Fairy Tale Princess Survey, Psyched Out, 7 Jan. 2009, 5 Dec. 2010
<http://psychedoutsw.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-answers-to-interesting-fairy-tale.html>.
23
Kim Hongsook, The Structure and Reconstruction of Marriage Scenarios in Picture Books for Children – A
Comparative Study of Fairy Tales and Feminist Tales [Part 2 of 2], Women’s Studies Forum 01021793 (1997)
138-147, 141.
24
Kilbourne
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fact, the idea that “beauty is good” is reinforced through verbal messages to thin
considered to be vulnerable to this influence; as a result, the beauty ideal as being thin
seems normal to not only young girls but also males, adults and even the society. As a
twelve year-old boy once said, Cinderella is beautiful because she “is skinny and has
“When I was little I made my mommy or daddy read me Cinderella every single
and beauty ideal messages [have been] analyzed, with results suggesting that the thin,
white beauty ideal that is present in adult program is also alive and well in program for a
younger audience.”28 That is to say, people are obsessed with thinness and that thin
beauty ideal is normalized in people’s mind and perception from the early age. In fact, it
is found that the supermajority of female characters were thin, while very few were
heavy. 29 Female characters that are not to be praised by their beautiful appearance, Miley
and Lily in Hannah Montana for example, are also portrayed as “below average” in spite
25
Temple Northup and Carol Liebler, The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: Beauty Ideals on the Disney and
Nickelodeon Channels, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association,
Marriott, Chicago, IL. (2009) Available at
<http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/9/9/1/1/pages299114/p299114-1.php>.
26
Debbie Mead, Fairy Tale Females: What Three Classics Tell Us About Women, Survey of Three Sixth Grade
Classes at University Park Elementary School, Salinas, CA. 25-28 Feb. 2002.
27
Skinny Me, Cinderella Skinny, 5 Dec. 2010 <cinderellaskinny.tumblr.com/>.
28
Northup
29
B. Silverstein, L. Perdue, B. Peterson and L. Kelly, The role of mass media in promoting a thin standard of bodily
attractiveness for women, Sex Roles, Vol. 14, Nos. 9/10, 1986, 519-532.
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of their stronger and healthier figure compared with the weak and gentle beauty of fairy
tale princesses. (See Figure 6 in Appendix 1) This actually even reinforces adolescent
girls’ obsession with thinness because of the fact that they are of the same age and in the
same period of time as compared to the princesses and adult models in a magazine.
beautiful females are also described as being sexy or sexually attractive. They are
considered to be “trendy,” that is, the “ditz” of the group, preoccupied with appearance,
wearing the latest of clothing, and usually obsessed with boys.30 An example for this type
of beautiful females is Sharpay in High school Musical. She is always wearing the most
trying to steal Troy – a popular basketball boy - away from Gabriella, his girlfriend.
Moreover, London in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody is other example for this kind of
beauty. This is a very rich girl with an extreme obsession with boys. In addition, other
kind of beauty ideal is “the girl next door.” This is a girl who is not overly-stylized or
concerned with fashion, but still manages to always look “cute” and draw the attraction
of boys – she is, perhaps, unaware of her beauty.31 Lily in Hannah Montana (see Figure 6
in Appendix 1) and Raven in That’s So Raven are some examples for this type.
Anyway, no matter how they are aware of their beauty, Disney females are all
supposed to be thin. As a matter of fact, from the fairy tale princesses to the modern-time
30
Northup
31
Northup
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famous star like Hannah Montana, the image of their beauty does not break out of the
Disney females, male characters in Disney shows also contribute to produce the image of
masculinity. While characters that are overweight like Cory (see Figure 8 in Appendix 1)
in Cory in the house or small and skinny like Phineas and Ferb (see Figure 9 in Appendix
1) in the movie series of the same name are approved by Disney audience for their
humorous words and behaviors serving for entertainment, their body figure is not what
First, the body figure showing physical strength appears to be a typical element in
Disney’s building male image. In fact, being powerful physically is related to the main
role of Disney males; that is, they are characterized to be protective and assertive. (We
will have more detailed discussion on this in the part of Disney traits.) According to
Hibbeler’s statistics, good characters (37%) are more likely to display physical strength
than evil (18.3%) and neutral (26.7%) ones. 32 This also implies that to be a good man,
To put it this way, males are not necessarily required to be muscular as long as
they are physically strong enough. For example, beside the characters with visible
muscles like Tarzan (see Figure 10 in Appendix 1) in Tarzan and Mr. Incredible (see
32
Hibbeler 53
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Appendix 1) from Sleeping Beauty also shows his physical power while he is described
as being slender and fit. In fact, “the prince is not overweight and wears clothing that
clearly displays his physical build. He has a frame that is of average size. He is tall and
slender.”33
considered to be beautiful, Disney males are required to have physically strong figure.
All of these not only express the gender expectations in terms of physical appearance but
also give us a message for behaviors regarding gender shown in Disney that is discussed
II - Behavioral Traits
Regarding gender role, Disney Channel is widely considered to set boundaries for
creating a dynamic system teenage models. The earliest and most loved Disney animated
role models such as Snow white, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty have stereotyped girls
films, while the basic traits of femininity are to be obedient, quiet and beautiful, it is
crucial they have constant attention of male characters. Being ultimately subordinate to
males is vital for all the princesses in these classic tales. The codes of behavior for
33
Hibbeler 53
34
Amanda Yerby, Samantha Baron, Youjin Lee, Gender roles in Disney Animation, History of Animation,
Assignment 1, Part 4, Website Collaborative Content Available at
<http://www.american.edu/soc/film/upload/Gender-Roles-in-Disney.pdf>.
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women imposed by males are the reason for this moral illness. It is, therefore, an attack
against women since these values have proposed and advocated the false idea of social
degradation of women.
roles do progress with changes. Their successors, Jasmine in Aladdin, Ariel in The Little
Mermaid, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and Mulan for instance, have
become more independent and free-spirited, although their main purpose in life
is Ariel from The Little Mermaid. While her sisters are more complying with her father’s
wishes, she is expressive and quick to speak her mind. Belle is another example of
Gaston: Plenty! Here, picture this: A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill
roasting on the fire, and my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones
play on the floor with the dogs. We'll have six or seven.
Belle: Dogs?
35
Beauty and the Beast, Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, Walt Disney Pictures, 1991.
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The lines above portray a smart and independent Belle whose primal ideal of life
is learning. While Gaston tries to convince her into marriage by opening up a peaceful
prospect with strapping boys, a rustic hunting lodge, Belle pictures her future differently.
In other words, she will not exchange her independence in return of wealth. She is the
first female character who does not desperately try to find a future husband. This
characteristic makes her one of the earliest representatives of feminism in Disney world.
The revolutionary traits demonstrating by Ariel and Belle have also freed the other
princesses such as Mulan, Jasmine, Pocahontas and the upcoming non-animated teenage
models from “dominant male – submissive female” stereotype. Female characters start
traditional and other opposite traits like being smart, witted and fun loving, as a result,
has “opened an era for militant feminism in more than one way.” 36 In the 21st century,
the type of female leading roles - Hannah Montana, Kim Possible, Elastic Girl in The
Incredibles, Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place, etc. - which is introduced as down-
series is one of the most successful teen franchise so far when “the movie grossed $29
Worlds show reached media popularity because the female character, Hannah Montana,
36
Ginette Castro, American feminism: A contemporary History, Feminism and the Law, (New York: NYU Press,
1990) 233.
37
Mary Barabe, Will Hannah Montana Forever be a Successful End to the Franchise? NeBusiness, 22 Nov. 2010, 5
Dec. 2010.
<http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business-news/special-features/2010/11/22/will-hannah-montana-forever-be-a-
successful-end-to-the-franchise-51140-27694099/>.
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is capable of “[harvesting] the fruits of the battles fought by liberal feminists in the 1960s
and 1970s.”38 The other characters from different Disney TV series are also outspoken,
hence represent the feminist world – i.e. an average girl can achieve success through their
Disney Channel has endeavored to erase gender distinction through the process of
shaping female’s traits. Nonetheless, Disney male leading role seems to make less
extent, princes from the classic tales (i.e. Phillip in Sleeping Beauty, The Prince in Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, Prince Charming in Cinderella), upgraded modern princes
(i.e. Eric in The Little Mermaid, Prince Adam in Beauty and the Beast), the cartoon male
leading roles in the 90s (i.e. Tarzan, Li Shang in Mulan) and even teenage models in non-
animated movies and TV shows (i.e. Izzy Daniels in Jump in) fell desperately into the
same category. These male characters “have been more prominent and portrayed as more
characters.”39 The song “I’ll make a man out of you” introducing on screen through an
animated movie Mulan has somehow summed up all the values of being a man in Disney.
(Be a man)
38
Anne Glass, Is Hannah Montana Really Such a Great Model? Socioquest, 29 Jul. 2009, 5 Dec. 2010
<http://www.groundreport.com/Opinion/Is-Hannah-Montana-Really-Such-a-Great-Role-Model/2904661>.
39
Yerby
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(Be a man)
Another example is Troy, in High School Musical trilogy hit. At first glance, he
Unfortunately, his other prominent traditional characteristics like being sporty, cute and
muscular have made this positive side seemingly unaffected to gender revolution.
Audience preference also contributes to create gender gap in Disney Channel. Had
the audience kept stereotyping them, male characters in Disney movies would not be able
to free themselves from masculinity’s values. There obviously exist other types of male
characteristics trying to get their images on screen. Predictably, the products will not be
sold well in the market considering with movies featuring traditional male behavioral
traits. In other words, having less attractive masculine characteristics equals bankruptcy.
For example, the animated movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire whose hero, Milo Thatch, is
particularly lean and nerdy managed to “make [only] approximately $85 million dollars
in its theatrical run,”41 - an undesirable result when the animation was assumed to be well
marketed. Other shows such as The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Wendy Wu:
they are also less popular than ones featuring traditional males.
40
Mulan, Dir. Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1998.
41
Atlantis: The Lost Empire, WorldLingo, 5 Dec. 2010
<http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Atlantis%3A_The_Lost_Empire>.
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It is apparent that behaviors of the two genders portrayed in Disney movies are
completely opposite regarding to their roles. While gender role in Disney Channel has
managed to reduce its gap through the upgraded portrayal of female behaviors, male set
Analyzing the ideas of gender role in Disney Channel, the research also examines
the characters’ romantic involvement. Actually, romance is one of the prominent themes
portrayed in Disney Channel. Taking a close observation, we will see that it is a special
key which is used by Disney to develop characters’ emotions. Therefore, the idea of
romantic love in these programs is always exaggerated. For instance, the Prince’s kiss in
Snow White and Seven Dwarfs saves the princess’s life. Still with a kiss, the princess one
more time is saved by Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty. Male characters in those films
are shown as rescuers; meanwhile, female characters are the ones who are rescued. Also,
through the films, it is obvious that girls and young women are willing to throw
themselves into marriage. In Disney Channel fairy tales, marriage opens the door to
luxurious life of the princesses, which is hard to find in their single life. And those
magical elements help to push romance into a situation in which females are subservient
to males.
“Love at first sight” is also a key concept in Disney films. Frankly, Disney films
provide little information about how couples maintain their relationships but only focus
on creating romantic love which people consider “a blink of love.” The relationship
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between Cinderella and the Prince in Cinderella is an example. Without spending much
time getting to know each other, they willingly fall in love. Not only in fairy tales but
also in modern movies do characters of the opposite sexes involve in love at the very first
time. Their love does not start with a kiss but with merely an intimate look; they fall
constantly hit on by Sharpay, he keeps his unchanging love for Gabriella. Besides, there
are many other characters who are faithful to their partners. They believe that with this
undying love, they can have a happy ending and live happily ever after.
One more thing concerned about romance in Disney films is the “attackers” and
how they attract their objects of affection. In Disney movies, men are almost always in
active position. That is why men usually make the first move in the relationship.
However, there are some exceptions. Sharpay in High School Musical clearly expresses
her determination to win Troy’s heart. It shows a shift in the way of winning the opposite
sexes’ hearts of characters conveyed in Disney Channel. No matter what one’s sex is, he
or she can start the campaign to win one’s love first as long as they are attractive. In fact,
there is a “belief that physical appearance is the most important thing when entering an
intimate relationship”42 and that “women use good looks to get a man.” 43 Ariel in The
Little Mermaid is a very clear example for using beauty to win Eric’s heart. The character
42
L.R. Tanner, S.A. Haddock and T.S. Zimmerman, Images of Couples and Families in Disney Feature-length
Animated Films, The American Journal of Family Therapy, 31, 368.
43
Theresa Tonn, Disney’s Influence on Females Perception of Gender and Love, A Research Paper Submitted in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Science Degree, Dec. 2008, 13.
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Ursula in the film tries to convince Ariel that “you got your looks, your pretty face, and
do not underestimate the importance of body language!” 44 In modern films, we can see
that most of girls and boys also have good appearance and with this appearance, they
easily find the one to love such as Troy Bolton, Hannah Montana and Alex Russo.
When it comes to the display of gender role in family structure and practices
depicted in Disney Channel movies and shows, there are four main points to discuss.
Namely, they are the presence of parents, image of mothers, image of fathers and power
division in family.
First and foremost, it can be seen that there are movies in which both parents are
included and the ones in which only one parent is presented. Specifically, in some classic
animated movies such as Bambi, Peter Pan or Tarzan, both mothers and fathers are
represented. Nonetheless, fathers in those movies only play a minor role while mothers
are portrayed as major in family. For instance, in the night when Bambi was born, his
mother presented him to all the animals in the forest while his father stood in the
mountain and he kept the distance until Bambi’s mother was killed.
On the other hand, Disney animated movies and live–action shows also present
only one parent; and in such cases, it is a matter of fact that single fathers are illustrated
more than single mothers. In particular, those single fathers are shown in Beauty and the
Beast, Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Hannah Montana, etc. Accordingly, the presence of
44
The Little Mermaid, Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker, Walt Disney Pictures, 1989.
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parents in Disney movies and shows suggests that fathers are only required to take care of
children when mothers are not able to do so. As a result, this can put a negative effect on
both male and female youngsters’ beliefs about fathers’ relationships with and
responsibilities to children.
different patterns. At first, mothers are portrayed as primary caregivers who are
Wendy in Peter Pan describes a mother as “someone who loves and cares for you.” 45 In
46
addition, “there would be no problem with the mother thanks to the maternal instinct,”
said panther Bagheera in The Jungle Book when he found Mowgli and decided to bring
the human baby to a pair of wolves with the belief that the baby would be safe there.
movies. For example, Perdy, the female dog in 101 Dalmatians was very dynamic during
the process of saving her puppies from the men kidnapping them. Similarly, in the sitcom
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, the twins’ mother Carey usually protects them from
troubles with Mr. Moseby – the hotel’s manager whenever they cause a new mess with
their jokes.
Disney movies such as Bambi and Tarzan. To be specific, Bambi’s mother was not only
45
Mark I. Pinsky, The Gospel according to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust, (Kentucky: Westminster John
Knox Press, 2004) 62.
46
Pinsky 89
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in charge of raising him but also responsible for protecting him from danger until she
died. In the meantime, the female gorilla Kala gave Tarzan all her love and care.
Moreover, she kept him safe from the hatred of other gorilla in the jungle and from the
tiger.
In short, although being portrayed in three different patterns, the image of mothers
in Disney animated movies and sitcoms has fell into a stereotype in which mothers
Turning to the portrayal of fathers in Disney movies and shows, it can be seen that
they are depicted in three images which are the controlling, aggressive, discipline-
practicing father; the nurturing and affectionate one; and last but not least, the self-
sacrificing one. In the first place, Kerchak the gorilla in Tarzan is an illustration for those
controlling, aggressive and discipline-practicing fathers. In truth, he ensures that all the
gorillas are under his control and only accepted Tarzan as one of his children until Tarzan
[…]
Kerchak: No. Forgive me, for not understanding that you have always been
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Another example for a controlling and aggressive father can be found in The Little
Triton: Don't you take that tone of voice with me young lady. As long as you
Meanwhile, the display of fathers as nurturing and affectionate can be traced from
Disney animated movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, or 101 Dalmatians,
etc. In details, Belle’s father in Beauty and the Beast always supports her in her desire of
reading books and her refusal of marrying Gaston although he is the most-wanted man in
town. Similarly, Pongo always shows his tender care to the puppies in 101 Dalmatians,
well. Indeed, they are seen sacrificing themselves to save their own children from danger.
Specifically, King Triton in The Little Mermaid signed the contract with Ursula to take
47
Tarzan, Dir. Chris Buck and Kevin Lima, Walt Disney Pictures, 1999.
48
The Little Mermaid, Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker, Walt Disney Pictures, 1989.
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his daughter’s place in the sea witch’s garden after Ariel had failed to gain Prince Eric’s
love. In the meantime, Gepetto in Pinocchio took the risk to sail the ocean and face a
When it comes to power division in family, two patterns of Disney are unequal
power division and shared power. The former is displayed in some animated movies such
as Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, The Lion King and Alice in Wonderland whereas the
latter is depicted in 101 Dalmatians and the live-action show Wizards of Waverly Place.
In details, there is an unequal division in household chores between Jim and Darling in
Lady and the Tramp. Truly, there was a scene in which Darling prepared the meal when
Jim sat in the living room reading newspapers. Likewise, Bambi’s mother was in charge
of raising, teaching and protecting him while his father kept a distance and not until the
mother was dead did he appear. Interestingly, there is only one movie in which the
female character was identified as more powerful than her male partner. In fact, the
Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland was the leading character who had more power
than the King and the King was presented as a weak man.
Meanwhile, some illustrations of shared power between males and females can be
seen in 101 Dalmatians and Wizards of Waverly Place. In the first example, it is obvious
that Pongo and Perdy share an equal responsibility in taking care of all the puppies and
have equal power in making decisions as well. In truth, regarding the fact that their
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49
children had been kidnapped, Pongo told Perdy “It’s all up to us,” not “up to me,”
the same way, Alex’s parents in Wizards of Waverly Place are portrayed with the unity:
they share work at the family’s fast food restaurant and they agree with each other about
the methods to teach their children whenever the children make mistakes.
To sum up, unequal power and shared power appear to be two patterns of Disney
movies and shows as regards power division in family. Obviously, when turning to the
inequality in power, those animated films and sitcoms are apt to depict male partners as
more powerful than female. Thus, it would have no positive influence on youngsters’
V - Socioeconomic Status
through both popular classical films and modern films. Male characters in Walt Disney
films are usually portrayed with higher social status with the role of leaders while female
As a matter of fact, in popular Disney animated films like Aladdin, Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, The Little Mermaid,
Treasure Planet, male characters are portrayed in the role of kings while females are
49
One hundred and one Dalmatians, Dir. Clyde Geronimi et al, Walt Disney Productions, 1961.
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50
Mary Poppins and Life is Beautiful are of the most popular classical films aired
by Disney Channel. In the movies, male characters involve in white or blue collar jobs
with high social status while female characters are working mainly in pink collar jobs
with lower social status. The following table lists all the male and female characters in
the two films together with their jobs and social status, showing the distinction regarding
genders.
FILMS
HIGH HIGH
NAME CAREER NAME CAREER
SOCIAL SOCIAL
POSITION POSITION
George Bank Mary Bank office
YES NO
Banks management Poppins staff
Mrs.
Mary Admiral
Naval officer YES House wife NO
Winifred
Poppins Boom
Banks
Maid of the
Constable
Police officer YES Ellen NO
Banks
Jones
residence
50
Disney famous classical sitcoms show in 1964 and 1997.
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Life is
Dora’s School
Fascist official YES Dora NO
beautiful
fiancé teacher
In Disney modern movies like Good luck Charlie, That’s So Raven, Cory in the
House, Phineas and Ferb , High school musical, Camp Rock, The Incredibles,
Pocahontas, etc.,51 the male characters are also described with higher social status or as a
team leader compared with female characters. In fact, it is less likely to have females
The following table provides a comparison between Disney male and female
MODERN
HIGH HIGH
FILMS
NAME CAREER SOCIAL NAME CAREER SOCIAL
POSITION POSITION
51
Disney modern films aired from 2000 to date.
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Candace
Selling
Getrude NO
assistance
Flynn
Daughter of
Pocahontas The father Tribe leader YES Pocahontas YES
Tribe leader
characters as kings or male leaders. In Disney modern programs, main characters are
usually children, hence, their position in the society is not clearly shown. However, from
the characters who act as parents and adults, we can realize the difference between males
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and females regarding social positions. On Disney channel, the subordinate social
position is still reinforced for females, depicting women in more subservient roles.
In short, people watch Disney Channel and at the same time, they receive
messages and images of gender role clearly portrayed in almost all of Disney shows. By
animated films to modern movies (see appendix 4 for table of Disney Channel programs
analyzed), what this part of research has found out is that in terms of physical
appearance, while female beauty is related to thinness, males are supposed to have
female characters, so far, have emerged as an inspirational source for feminist portrayal,
male leading roles are restrictedly arranged in traditional behavioral structure. Therefore,
Disney programs only offer the audience a limited type of revolution propagandized
through character traits. Next, the research shows that the image of rescuer, love at first
sight, the unwavering passion and “live happily ever after” are the key concepts which
are portrayed in Disney Channel in terms of romantic involvement. The research also
finds out that men are almost always active in starting a relationship and women usually
family structure and practices, it is shown in the research that single fathers appear more
usually than single mothers in Disney Channel programs. As regards the portrayal of
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mothers, there are three types of maternal roles namely the protector, the caregiver and
the protector and caregiver. When it comes to the depiction of fathers, they are displayed
as controlling and aggressive, nurturing and affectionate, and self-sacrificing. Both the
equality and inequality in sharing house chores responsibility between fathers and
mothers are shown in the research as well. Last but not least, regarding socioeconomic
status, Disney Channel also portrays its characters in traditional norms. To be precise,
most male characters are described as social leaders with white color jobs, taking
important roles while female characters are usually attached to the inferior social
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out how teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City respond to the images of gender role shown in
schools – Lac Hong Secondary School (Add: 20D, 3/2 Street, Ward 12, District 10) and
Nguyen Tri Phuong Secondary School (Add: 72, Nguyen Lam Street, Ward 6, District
10) and high schools - Nguyen Thị Minh Khai High School (Add: 275, Dien Bien Phu
Street, Ward 7, District 3) and Le Quy Don High School (Add: 110, Nguyen Thi Minh
Khai Street, Ward 6, District 3.) We also created an online version of our survey and
there were 27 respondents taking our survey. In total, the survey was taken by 227
respondents with the age range from 14 years old to 18 years old. (See Appendix 2 for the
I - Physical Appearance
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As stated in the tables, it is shown that both females (34.3%) and males (34.5%)
are quite actively engaged in female slimness portrayed by Disney Channel. To some
thinness. This seemingly proves the power of Disney on Saigonese teenagers’ perception
of gender in terms of physical appearance. However, it is also notable that while males
have equal preferences to female beauty as being slender and sexy (both 34.5%), HCMC
and European girls. They appear to be heading towards a firm and healthy figure rather
than trying various methods of dieting to get a skinny and bony body figure.
of masculinity and fitness are almost equal (46.5% and 46.6%), the majority of girls
choose fitness as their favorite male physical appearance (67.7%). As a result, we can
come to a conclusion that Saigonese boys have a strong obsession with physical strength
in both muscularity and fitness. They have equal view points of what is considered male
beauty – to be muscular and to be fit or slender. It somehow expresses that their upmost
concern focuses on being strong physically. On the other hand, girls’ idea is totally
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different. In truth, most of them (67.7%) prefer males with fitness – a familiar image of
male models on television and magazines. It at the same time gives us an implication that
HCMC girls are more and more independent from the protection of muscular men quite
often portrayed in Disney. Instead, they are in favor of apparent body build of fitness as
II – Behavioral Traits
Chosen options A B C D E F
Male 40.6 % 6.3 % 21.9 % 6.2 % 6.2 % 18.8 %
Female 49 % 6% 15 % 21 % 9% 0%
Note on options:
A: Fun loving, free-spirited B: Princess-liked
E: Childish F: Others
Chosen options A B C D E F
Male 11.4 % 42.9 % 22.9 % 17.1 % 5.7 % 0%
Female 8.6 % 25.7 % 11.4 % 22.9 % 5.7 % 0%
Note on options:
A: Nerdy B: Sporty
C: Superman-liked D: Playful
E: Childish F: Others
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evaluated by teenage boys and girls in Ho Chi Minh City. It indicates that “fun loving -
free spirited” preference (Hannah Montana, Alex Russo, etc.) currently has market
dominance with 40.6% from boys’ evaluation and 49% girls’ satisfaction. While
“princess-liked” pattern (the princesses from classic tales) shows an even distribution of
result as it scores only 6.2% and 9% from boys and girls respectively, ratings of “brainy
diversity. This characteristic is highly appreciated by Ho Chi Minh City teenage boys
with 21.9% comparing to 15% girls’ vote. There also appears a huge favor gap between
Ho Chi Minh City boys and girls for female role model’s “superman-liked” (Elastic Girl,
Totally Spice, and the like) pattern. This distinctive characteristic catches 21% Ho Chi
Minh City girl’s preference, which is 3.5 times higher than that of boys. Both girls and
boys in Ho Chi Minh City share the same score on “childish” (Harper in Wizards of
opinions for female behavioral norms among Saigonese teenagers. The result
demonstrates the percentage shown on the table along with the actual count value: with
that being 18.3 and 0 respectively. Most boys commented in the box below “others”
option that they liked “Sharpay” characteristic – a witted, mean, self-centered, free
Table 4 displays a percentage of those satisfied with the stated behavioral patterns
for male leading roles in Disney films. The table is based on the responses of teenagers of
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both genders in Ho Chi Minh City. According to Saigonese teenage boys’ evaluation, it is
evident that “Sporty” (Troy Bolton in High School Musical and Izzy Daniels in Jump in,
etc.) and “Playful” (Chad Danforth in High School Musical) characteristic made up the
two most favorite Disney male’s characteristics. Together they comprise over half of Ho
Chi Minh City boy’s satisfaction. At the same time, Saigonese girls show the fondness of
“sporty” characteristic for male category as this personality climbs to the highest
percentage of 42.9, while “playful” trait only accounts for 17.10% vote. When teenage
girls agree that “Superman-liked” feature (Mr. Incredible, Tarzan, Gaston, the Beast, and
so forth) is desirable, boys disagree making a total percentage of 22.9 and 11.4
respectively. Being “childish” (Jackson and Mitchell in Hannah Montana: Best of Both
Worlds, Justin Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place, and the like) seems less favorable for
both genders as rating hits the lowest with only 5.7% satisfaction.
The tables clearly show that Ho Chi Minh City teenagers in both genders are still
influenced by Disney gender stereotypes. Both sexes show the fondness of the most
popular traits in Disney shows such as “fun loving – free spirited” for female characters
and “sporty,” “playful” for male characters. At the same time, they show less impressed
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The result of survey shows that Disney Channel has a certain impact on HCMC
teenagers’ perception of romance and gender. There is no vote for the idea that romance
in Disney Channel is very realistic. However, they seem to agree with the idea that
romance in Disney films can be acceptable. Among males’ responses, there is 80%
possibly proves that girls are more romantic than boys. Moreover, it is notable that we
cannot avoid some over-romanticized details in the movies. However, those details, in
our opinions, also symbolize for innocent dreams which are idealized to direct us to a
In our survey, more than half of teenagers in HCMC believe in love at first sight.
Nevertheless, teenagers in HCMC believe that they can have and develop their affection
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in case they meet the right person who can make them feel the so-called love. It is
surprising to know that 80% HCMC boys vote for love at first sight as opposed to 42.9%
of girls. Only one girl thinks differently that “it should depend on the one I love.”
The idea of eternal love is rejected by half of the participants because they think
that through the flow of time, love will change. The love for one another can be less or
more but it is hard to stay the same. One special thing in the survey is that no boy
believes in eternal love; meanwhile, 42.9% girls believe in everlasting love. It proves that
boys and girls are less affected by the idea of eternal love on Disney Channel. But girls
seem to idealize a perfect love in which one never changes the love for another. And
although boys do not approve of this idea, there is one expressing, “This can only happen
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The idea of living “happily ever after” also receives many approving responses
from 50% of boys and 28.6% of girls. “Others” option constitutes a percentage of 25 and
42.8 of boys and girls respectively. Therefore, different ideas are generated. On one hand,
they believe in “happily ever after” ending because of their faith in love stability; that is,
they think the right person will help their love blossom. On the other hand, for those who
do not agree, they openly express their thoughts about everlasting happiness. As one girl
truthfully says, “anything is possible. If we are not sure about everything, the best attitude
is that we should be ready to face whatever suddenly happens in our real life.”
Dressing
Gender Making scandals Being lovely Caring
suggestively
Male 40% 34.3% 14.3% 11.4%
Dressing
Gender Making scandals Being lovely Caring
suggestively
Female 42% 29% 15% 13%
The way to “attack” the one of opposite sex is also a main feature of Disney
romantic love. Strategies and plans on the way to one’s heart seem diverse and they are
all supported by the participants. Boys want to be able to play sport as Troy Bolton and
Chad Danforth in High School Musical (40%) while 34.3% prefers boys with profound
knowledge like Cody in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. 14.3% is interested in boys
with sporty way of dressing. And the rest votes for “caring” type. To girls, 42 % likes to
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express their love through scandals because they think that this is an easy way to get the
attention of the ones they love. 29% prefers themselves to be lovely like Gabriella in
High School Musical and Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock. 15% likes the suggestive way of
dressing such as Sharpay in High School Musical while 13% of the girls is interested in
the care of love. Through the survey, we explore that both boys and girls want to free
themselves from the old images portrayed in Disney shows. Instead, they are strongly
influenced by Disney new images – boys being sporty, knowledgeable and caring;
meanwhile, girls being active in love. It goes against the gender stereotype in which boys
are always the rescuers and girls are always the rescued.
Chosen options A B C D
Male 34.5 % 62 % 0% 3.5 %
Female 35.3 % 54.3 % 8.6 % 0%
Note on options:
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Chosen options A B C
Male 45.5 % 52.5 % 2%
Female 43.7 % 56.3 % 0%
Note on options:
The survey indicates the idea of male and female teenagers watching Disney
Channel in Ho Chi Minh City about family structure and practices. As can be seen from
the survey result, in general, over 50% of both teenage boys and girls vote for the
equality in labor and power division between male and female in family. In addition,
approximately half the participant number taking part in the survey prefers the image of
parents in which mothers play a more active role and fathers are no longer a distant figure
to children.
Specifically, 62% of boys and 54.3% of girls who watch Disney Channel think
both fathers and mothers should go to work. Meanwhile, the number of male and female
teenagers who like the equality in household labor division accounts for 56.5% and 63%.
It is clear from the data collected that there is a very slight gap between the number of
boys and girls supporting the equality in family. In other words, both males and females
in their teenagers living in Ho Chi Minh City are well aware of men’s and women’s roles
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in a modern family where the father and the mother support one another and share
responsibilities.
Equally important, the percentage of male and female participants in the survey
who like the portrayal of an affectionate and caring father constitutes 52.5% and 56.3 %
one after another. Hence, it is a matter of fact that there are positive changes out of the
Nevertheless, it appears that gender role stereotypes still exist in the mind of those
teenage Disney Channel viewers. To illustrate this idea, it is shown in the survey result
that teenager number who think mothers are more capable of household chores and
fathers are more capable of making a living is higher in proportion to that who think vice
versa (34.5% to 0% in boys and 35.3% to 8.6% in girls.) Similarly, the image of a so-
called perfect father according to 45.5% of boys and 43.7% of girls is the controlling and
Channel young viewers in Ho Chi Minh City while some still perform their
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V – Socioeconomic Status
From the survey, it is shown that the assumption of female leadership is more
acceptable nowadays. Raising a question of “whether women are suitable for leader
responsibility,” we get the approval from most male and female audiences. In fact, there
are 51.7% males and 71.5% females agreeing with the idea while 48.3% males and
26.5% females regard women as unsuitable for leadership. It shows that while nearly half
of males still holds on to the idea of that women have less important position in the
society, two third of the girls asked seems to have more open view on this issues. From
this, we can come to the conclusion that Saigonese girls have been more and more aware
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PART 5: CONCLUSION
Chi Minh City teenagers’ perception of gender role in Disney Channel, this research can
First of all, in terms of physical appearance, most HCMC teenagers are quite
actively engaged in the obsession with thinness portrayed on Disney shows. However,
while boys have equal preferences on slim and sexy girls, HCMC girls would rather
choose firmness as their beauty ideal. This to some extent proves that HCMC teenagers
are gradually heading towards the beauty that is physically strong and healthy. In
addition, it is found that boys’ choice of muscularity and fitness are nearly equal, whereas
girls would prefer male fitness to muscularity. It somehow expressed the other influential
Secondly, the majority voting for favorite Disney traits of both genders indicates
audience reception in HCMC is still being controlled by Disney gender current values
and perceptions. While the feminist movement has great impact on Disney female role
models, male characters are under pressure of typical social expectation. The survey on
favorite characters in Disney movies proves that less than flawless characteristic such as
“childish” and “nerdy” does not receive as many positive feedbacks as typical traits for
instance “sporty” and “playful.” Gender role in terms of behavioral traits, therefore,
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Thirdly, although not all HCMC teenagers are overwhelmed by the portrayal of
romance in Disney films, they still get a certain influence which is clarified by the
survey’s result. That means HCMC teenagers selectively accept the model shown in
Disney and make it their own. There will not totally be a prince and a princess or a
romantic love but teenagers still wish for a beautiful life or even a dreamy world in which
they can freely express themselves instead of being restricted in Disney stereotyped
portrayal.
Next, as regards family structure and practices, more than half the number of male
and female teenagers who participated in the survey supports the equality in household
labor and power division. This fact represents a positive change in the perception of
gender role in HCMC boys’ and girls’ minds in which both men and women play an
important role in family and share all responsibilities with one another. Comparing to
Disney Channel stereotypes of male and female’s roles in family, the survey displays
HCMC teenagers’ independent thoughts out of domestic roles of women and dominant
roles of men.
feminism. HCMC teenagers’ notion about gender has become more objective, more
radical nowadays.
perception of gender role in Disney Channel. In fact, despite being one of the factors that
have a strong influence on its viewers’ point of view of gender role, Disney Channel
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programs cannot reinforce all its ideals of gender in the Ho Chi Minh City teenage
thinking . This is what caregivers like parents and teachers should pay attention to in
order to provide the adolescents an environment, a clear guidance and useful directions to
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APPENDIX 1
Figure 5. Identical Beauty of Disney Figure 6. Miley (left) with below average
Princesses figure and Lily with “trendy” beauty
<http://www.thecartoonpictures.com/r- <http://www.last.fm/music/Hannah+Mont
disney-1-disney-princesses-9-disney- ana/+images/26629051>
princess-party-4.htm>
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APPENDIX 2
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d. Gầy guộc, nhỏ con (Cody – Zack and Cody, George – George of the Jungle)
Ý kiến khác (Cho biết lý do):
5. Kiểu nhân vật Disney yêu thích của bạn?
5.1. Nhân vật nữ
a. Lanh lợi, tinh nghịch (Hannah Montana, Alex Russo - Wizards of Waverly
Place)
b. Nết na, xinh đẹp (Công chúa Lọ Lem, Bạch Tuyết, Nàng tiên cá)
c. Học giỏi, dịu dàng (Gabriella - High School Musical)
d. Có siêu năng lực (Elastic Girl - The Incredibles)
e. Ngờ nghệch, ngớ ngẩn (Harper – Wizards of Waverly Place)
Ý kiến khác (Cho biết lý do):
5.2. Nhân vật nam
a. Thông minh, mọt sách (Cody - Zack and Cody, Justin Russo – Wizards of
Waverly Place)
b. Mê thể thao (Troy Bolton - High School Musical)
c. Có siêu năng lực (Mr. Incredible - The Incredibles)
d. Tinh nghịch (Zack - Zack and Cody, Rico - Hannah Montana)
e. Ngờ nghệch, ngớ ngẩn (George – George of the Jungle, Oliver & Jackson, anh
của Hannah – Hannah Montana)
Ý kiến khác (Cho biết lý do):
6. Theo bạn, sự lãng mạn trong những phim trên Disney Channel là
a. Rất thực tế
b. Có thể chấp nhận
c. Không thực tế chút nào
Ý kiến khác:
7. Bạn có tin vào tình yêu sét đánh hay không?
a. Có
b. Không
c. Ý kiến khác
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8. Bạn có tin vào một tình yêu vĩnh cửu, không bao giờ thay đổi hay không?
a. Có
b. Không
c. Ý kiến khác
9. Khi gặp đúng đối tượng, bạn có tin rằng mình sẽ sống hạnh phúc mãi mãi về
sau với người đó không?
a. Có
b. Không
c. Ý kiến khác
10. Bạn nghĩ nên làm cách nào để thu hút người khác giới:
10.1. Nếu bạn là nam
a. Ăn mặc thời trang (Jackson, anh của Hannah Montana)
b. Chơi thể thao giỏi (Troy Bolton)
c. Học giỏi, khoe kiến thức (Cody – Zack and Cody, Justin Russo)
d. Thể hiện sự quan tâm (Troy Bolton)
Ý kiến khác:
10. 2. Nếu bạn là nữ
a. Ăn mặc gợi cảm (Sharpay)
b. Ăn mặc dễ thương, nữ tính (Gabriella)
c. Thể hiện sự quan tâm
d. Làm những trò điên rồ để gây sự chú ý (Candace – Phineas and Ferb)
Ý kiến khác:
11. Bạn thích kiểu mẫu gia đình nào dưới đây:
a. Cha đi làm, mẹ nội trợ (The Incredibles)
b. Cha mẹ đều đi làm (Good luck Charlie)
c. Cha nội trợ, mẹ đi làm
12. Công việc trong nhà là việc của:
a. Cha
b. Mẹ
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APPENDIX 3
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c. Shared responsibility
13. What is your preferred type of father?
a. Strict and tough (Kerchak – Tarzan)
b. Close to children like a friend (Billy Ray Stewart – Hannah Montana)
c. Just provides children with material needs (Father of Zack and Cody – The
Suite Life of Zack and Cody)
14. Do you think females are suitable to be leaders?
a. Yes
b. No
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APPENDIX 4
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REFERENCES
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