Proof of Concept

Alfie Gunter
Thesis Proposal Concept

How Gender is represented in Animation

Chapter 3 - Case Studies

Sleeping Beauty(1959) - Gender representation in animated film

at the time

Spirited Away (2003) - An example of animation from a different

perspective (Eastern)/Feminism

The Breadwinner (2017) - Different perspective and Strong female

protagonist in modern animated film
Key Themes/Issues

• Gender Identity
• Feminism
• Hyperfemininity/masculinity
• Stereotypes
• Gender Roles
Theoretical Frameworks and their Theorists
Judith Butler - Gender Theory
- Gender as a Social construct

Nancy Chodorow - Psychoanalytic Theory

- Explores the relation between Psychoanalysis and feminism

Domenico Di Ceglie - Gender Identity

- Discusses gender identity and its correlation to development and
Mental Health
Books
Judith Butler - Gender trouble : feminism and the subversion of identity/Undoing Gender (Butler,
1990)
Key thinker in the field of Gender - Discusses Gender, as well as Masculinity and Femininity as Social constructs

Anita Brady - Understanding Judith Butler (Brady, 2010)

Use this to support Judith Butler by giving Butler’s theories a contemporary lense

Martyn Barrett; Eithne Buchanan-Barrow - Children’s Understanding of Society (Barrett, Barrow

2003)
Chap. 6, Children’s understanding of gender roles in society, explores gender through the perspective of children

John Archer and Barbara Lloyd - Sex and Gender (Archer + Lloyd, 2002)
Discusses the extent that men and women actually differ and general issues such as stereotypes

Domenico Di Ceglie - A Stranger in My Own Body: Atypical Gender Identity Development and Mental
Health (Ceglie, 1998)
This book looks at how gender stereotypes can affect development and mental health
Journal Article
1) Whistle While You Work? Disney Animation, Organizational
Readiness and Gendered Subjugation
o Disney animations and how they create expectations about working life that may
influence children through their representations of work and gendered workplace roles.
(Paraphrased)
2) Damsels in discourse: girls consuming and producing identity texts
through Disney Princess play
o The impact of properties such as the Disney princesses and the way they shape gender
identity through the films and toys
3) A Comparative Study of Gender Roles in Animated Films
o Animated films reinforcing gender stereotypes to younger audiences and deepening the
stereotypes into society
Website and Documentary
Website:
• Looking from the Outside In – Gender Representation in Animation
• Gender in Media: Females Don't Rule

Documentary:
• The role of Gender (2015)
- Explores the ways in which gender roles, expectations and assumptions are
changing
3 Key Images
Bibliography
Archer, J. and Lloyd, B. (2002). Sex and gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Barrett, M. and Buchanan-Barrow, E. (2003). Children's understanding of society. Hove [England]: Psychology Press.

Brady, A. and Schirato, T. (2010). Understanding Judith Butler. London: SAGE.

Butler, J. (2006). Gender trouble. Florence: Routhledge.

Di Ceglie, D. and Freedman, D. (1998). A stranger in my own body.

Gardam, T. (2015). Looking from the Outside In – Gender Representation in Animation. [online] 4:3. Available at:
https://fourthreefilm.com/2015/09/looking-from-the-outside-in-gender-representation-in-animation/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].

Griffin, M., Harding, N. and Learmonth, M. (2016). Whistle While You Work? Disney Animation, Organizational Readiness and Gendered Subjugation.
Organization Studies, 38(7).

Kanopy (2007). The Role of Gender. [video] Available at: https://ucreative.kanopy.com/video/role-gender [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].

Michael, E. (2012). A Comparative Study of Gender Roles in Animated Films. [online] Available at:
https://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/download/316/275/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].

Nagel, J. (2008). Gender in Media: Females Don't Rule. [online] Animation World Network. Available at:
https://www.awn.com/animationworld/gender-media-females-dont-rule [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].

Wohlwend, K. (2009). Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess Play. Reading Research Quarterly,
44(1).
Illustration List
Fig 1, Movie Still -
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2017/11/calls-for-sl
eeping-beauty-to-be-banned-from-primary-schools.html

Fig 2, Movie Still -

https://hornet.com/stories/spirited-away-miyazaki/

Fig 3, Movie Poster -

http://thecircular.org/cartoon-saloon-the-irish-academy-award-nomin
ees/