Cartoons Don’t Just Entertain They Teach

For many years, people disregarded cartoons as benign and only noted their entertainment value instead of recognizing how important they are as source of instruction for children on appropriate gender norms. One of the first ways children learn what is looks like to be a man or a woman is through cartoons and children’s books. The recent development of more inclusive and expanding representations of gender in both children’s books and cartoons is to be applauded. For instance, the new Ralph Breaks the Internet pokes fun at previous depictions of princesses in past cartoons, while Sparkle Boy by Leslea Newman shows that boys can like playing with trucks and also like wearing clothes that sparkle.