Gender Bias in Mickey Mouse Roadster Racers

Reviews for what your kids are into (before they get into it): Common sense media. Common Sense Media: Ratings, reviews, and advice. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/.

Common Sense Media report on gender in children’s media noted that “even television and videos targeting infants and toddlers are replete with gender stereotypes.” 

“Male characters are depicted as strong, emotionally-restrained, risk-taking leaders (who get to be funny), while female characters are agreeable, virtuous, demur, and primarily concerned with their physical appearance and much more likely to be shown crying.” Gender stereotypes in children’s media may lead children to believe in dated concepts, such as: “boys are smarter than girls; certain jobs are best for men and others for women; and that even girls are responsible for their own sexual assault; these ideals can be incredibly damaging.”

For example, in Disney’s 2017 series Mickey Mouse Roadster Racers, the male characters are primary colors, red, blue, yellow, while the female characters are stereotypically pink and purple. Minnie and Daisy run a business called the Happy Helpers where they do stereotypically feminine service jobs such as: cleaning, cooking, event planning, decorating, baking, babysitting, and more. In Season 1, Episode 3 “Race for the Rigatoni Ribbon! / Roaming Around Rome,” there are specific examples of gender stereotypes:

1. At the beginning of the episode the boys are arguing about who is going to win, and Minnie steps in, similar to a mothering role, reminding them that we are all friends.
2. Shortly after, Minnie’s conversation with Daisy focuses on the girls wanting to win the race so they can go shopping.
3. Minnie and Daisy’s race cars transform from street legal to racing-mode, and in the process, flowers burst from Daisy’s vehicle, and a large pink bow and heart-shaped grill and headlights adorn Minnie’s racing car.
4. Daisy’s race car comes with a mirror so she can look at herself (exhibiting the stereotype for being obsessed with her looks).
5. In the middle of the racing event, Daisy and Minnie get pushed off course and are depicted fawning and being overly excited about shopping at a shoe store.
6. Donald shows anger from being passed by another racer, and the show puts across that it’s okay for boys to be assertive and angry. In contrast, the girls were not upset about being pushed off the race course, instead, they were excited about not having to complete the race.
7. Towards the end of the race, the girls are shown wearing fancy hats, glasses, and jewelry, and they sigh and say oh well about not winning the race (showing girls not as interested in competition).
8. In the second half of the episode, ‘Roaming around Rome’. Happy Helpers, Minnie and Daisy, answer a call from a tour guide named Luigi who was sick and needed their help. Even though he didn’t ask for it, Daisy made a thing of tea for Luigi to help him feel better.
9. Minnie and Daisy agreed to help Luigi the tour guide, and on a tour,  they meet a female tourist who is shown as a nerdy girl who is naturally inquisitive, but her parents are dismissive of this.

Conclusions:

The Common Sense Media report made suggestions for how to facilitate discussions with your children regarding the media they consume. For children aged 2-5, they recommend parents “point out people from real life or TV that show there’s more than one way to do gender, i.e., mom working full-time while dad stays home with the kids; and to comment positively on shows that equally value boys and girls and to also find shows that aren’t hyper-pink or super-blue.” 

There are things that Disney and other creators of children’s media could change to have less gender bias in their characters, such as having male characters cook, clean, and baby-sit, thereby reducing female stereotypes. They can also get rid of the stereotype that women are obsessed with fashion. Additionally, they could update the costuming color schemes as well as change shapes and symbols that are used on the clothing outfits, making them less stereotypical.

For example, the feminine symbols, (i.e., hearts, bows, and swirls) were present in every aspect of the character designs for Daisy and Minnie. Their clothing articles, accessories, and their race cars were all intentionally designed to be overtly feminine to make sure that kids knew that these characters were female. In summary, every aspect of the design and behaviors of cartoon characters affect the audience’s interpretation of gender roles.