No Women! Only Brothers

The manner in which manga can reflect and influence readers’ gender perceptions has been a frequently researched issue. This article is an attempt to consider those questions through language, a traditionally less-examined element, in order to shed new light on how male and female characters are used in manga. To do so, I use a linguistic corpus of ten popular shōjo-manga and shōnen-manga to look at (1) how much of the text found in speech bubbles was spoken by male and female characters; and (2) how many characters were seen. With regards to approximately 80% of all text, the corpus shows that shōnen-manga are extremely skewed towards male characters, compared to shōjo-manga, which is more balanced between female and male characters. While many more characters appear in shōnen-manga, the majority are male. Furthermore, only two female characters in all of the shōnen-manga series account for more than 10% of text, whereas all the shōjo-manga have male characters accounting for over 12%. In examining why this might be, I suggest that the focus on interpersonal relationships – including both friendship and romance – in shōjo-manga may lead to a smaller cast of characters and better balance between male and female characters. However, with authors usually writing for their own gender, I also maintain that it is related to differences in the roles of women and men in Japanese society. These distributions also have an impact on characterization itself, particularly in regards to the use of gendered speech patterns. With insight from Kinsui’s yakuwari-go, or role-playing language (2003), I specifically argue that the results predict that shnōen-manga will use more stereotypical speech, particularly in depicting female characters. In offering supporting evidence for this hypothesis, I suggest that this may affect how readers engage with the characters, thus creating different types of reading experiences within the genres. Through this discussion, it will become clear that linguistic data can shed light into how characters are manipulated in manga on a variety of levels, thus appealing to its potential as a legitimate and unique approach to manga research.

The purpose of this research was to examine the subtle effects of gender stereotyping in children's literature through the use of differential language, and to test hypotheses derived from a feminist framework. One general hypothesis tested was that female and male characters would not be represented equally in the literature. It was expected that female characters would be underrepresented in titles, pictures, and central roles. A second hypothesis was that there is a relationship between gender stereotypes and adjectives used to describe female and male characters in children's picture books. It was predicted that (a) adjectives used in children's books would be different for female and male characters, (b) male characters would more often be described with words connoting strength activity, positive evaluation, and masculinity, while female characters would more often be described with words connoting weakness, passivity, negative evaluation, and femininity, and (c) female and male authors would not differ in their use of stereotyped descriptors. Part I included a working sample of Caldecott Medal and honors books for the period, 1984-1994 (N=30). Gender of each author and information about each character [gender, developmental status (child, teenager, adult), animal versus human status, ethnicity (minority versus European/American)] was recorded by the researcher. Eighteen raters were used to record adjectives for each character from all of the children's books in the sample. There were three recording sessions with three pairs of raters in each. Part II included a sample of 50 travelers from a metropolitan train station, bus terminal, and airport. From Part I, the researcher identified the 20 most commonly recorded adjectives for female characters and the 20 most commonly recorded adjectives for male characters. These adjectives were then presented with Semantic Differential scales to the participants. The prevalence of female characters in titles, central roles, and pictures was assessed by counting and recording the raw numbers of female and male characters in each category. Three chi squares were used (one for each category) to determine if females are underrepresented in comparison to males. Results show that males are presented more often than females in titles and pictures. No difference was found between the number of female and male characters in central roles. From Part II, each participant's ratings produced a score for each adjective on the factors of potency, activity, evaluation, and gender association. Independent t-tests were conducted for each of the four factors to determine if a difference

After rating male and female characters in the top-grossing comedy films for each year (1951-2000), the authors predicted that during times of greater social and economic threat female film characters who joke about sex would be less physically attractive, and male characters would be lower in socioeconomic status. These qualities have been found in prior research to denote desirability in potential mates. Results were generally consistent with predictions. It was suggested that these results, paired with findings from previous studies, could be taken as support for a lowered expectations hypothesis: during bad times people feel less optimistic, and consequently even people's fantasy partners are less grandiose.

This study is an update of research done primarily in the 1970s on gender representation in children's cartoons. In the present study, 175 episodes of 41 different cartoons were coded for numbers and demographic characteristics of male, female, and androgynous characters. Behaviors, communication characteristics, and total talk time of male and female characters were coded, along with copyright year and country of origin. Results indicated notable discrepancies between prominence and portrayal of male and female characters. Both male and female characters were portrayed stereotypically. Compared to female characters, male characters were given much more prominence, appeared more frequently, engaged in more of almost all of the noted behaviors, and talked significantly more. When male or female behavior and communication variables were divided by number of male or female characters or by total talk time, results indicated consistency with gender role stereotypes. Comparisons of pre- and post-1980 cartoons, however, indicated significant change toward a less stereotypical portrayal of the characters, particularly female characters.

This study discusses the nonverbal communication particularly body language. This study focuses on kinesics such as: eye contact, posture, and facial expression of the male main character (Edward Cullen) and the female main character (Bella Swan) in Twilight movie by Stephenie Meyer. The aims of this study is to know the meaning behind those nonverbal communications of male main character and female main character as their acting in the movie. The method used to answer the problem of this study is Descriptive qualitative. The data of this study is a film entitled Twilight produced in 2008. The data is described in the form of images and words. From this study, it can be seen that there are three kinds of nonverbal communication used by the male and female main character. Those are eye contact, posture, and facial expression where the nonverbal communication used by the male character is concerned, serious, brave, romantic, cool postures, friendly and bright eyes. Whereas the female character uses dim eye contact, glace and shock posture, and amazed facial expression. It is found that there are several differences of using nonverbal communication between male and female character in the movie.

This study was motivated by the lack of research that discussed in detail the types of slang words used in popular media, one of which was the Wednesday series. The study aimed to identify and analyze the types of slang words spoken by teenage characters. This study used descriptive qualitative analysis of adolescent dialogues that used slang and then analyzed them using the theory of Allan and Burridge (2006). The data analysis technique follows Spradley’s method. The results of the study showed 89 types of slang were found, with the most frequently appearing type being flippant slang. These findings not only reveal slang in general but also reveal differences in the use of slang between female and male teenage characters. The results showed that overall, female characters used slang more often than male characters. There is a difference in the types of slang used by each gender, male characters tending to use flippant slang more often, while female characters use fresh and creative slang more often, and other types. These findings indicate that the use of slang was influenced not only by frequency of occurrence but also by different preferences for types of slang between female and male characters.

This study aims to investigate the representation of gender and the presence of male dominance in spoken discourse in two selected English Language textbooks for junior high school year one students: Longman English EDGE (2nd Edition) 1A and 1B in Hong Kong, and New Horizon: English Course Book 1 in Japan, respectively. This research employs both qualitative and quantitative analyses to examine the content of dialogues in each unit. Key areas of analysis include the number of domestic and occupational roles assigned to male, female, and gender-neutral characters, the range of activities undertaken by these characters, the character initiating conversations, the occurrence of males, females and gender-neutral characters in dialogues, and the number of spoken words and turns by them. The findings indicated an improvement in gender equality in both textbooks in various aspects, compared with other earlier textbooks which were examined by other researchers (Lee & Collins, 2008, 2010; Lee, 2018). In terms of role allocation and activities, a relatively balanced representation of male and female characters was observed. Female characters demonstrated a higher frequency of initiating conversations and taking turns. The average number of words spoken per turn by male and female characters was similar in the LE1A and LE1B textbooks, but male characters still spoke more per turn in NH1 textbook despite female characters taking more turns. Moreover, LE1A and LE1B employed gender-neutral names to mitigate gender stereotypes but gender-neutral names were not utilized in the Japanese textbook, despite the author’s effort to achieve gender equality. Considering these findings, this study reveals that male characters were underrepresented in the textbooks in Hong Kong and suggests that it is crucial to enhance gender awareness among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, provide explicit gender-sensitive instruction, and establish specific guidelines by educational authorities to assist textbook authors in creating gender-inclusive educational materials.

This paper presents the findings of research carried out with the aim of gaining an understanding of the characteristics of male and female child characters in children's literature. "Characteristics" in our research refers to the representation, role and description of male and female characters. The sample consisted of 32 literary texts with child characters in readers used in the first and second grades of primary school. Using the descriptive method and the technique of content analysis, it was established that male characters are almost twice as represented as female characters and that they are more frequently the main characters in a text. With regard to character description, inquisitiveness, imaginativeness and resourcefulness are the most common traits of male characters, while kindness and sensibility are characteristics ascribed only to female characters. It is surprising that the female characters did not have negative traits, leading to the conclusion that their characteristics are more positively rated than the characteristics and actions of male characters. Based on our data, we can conclude that gender stereotypes are present in the descriptions of male and female characters, and we therefore invite readers to take part in further discussions and a more comprehensive analysis of the representation of child characters both in literary works and in other cultural products.

This study investigated viewer perceptions of female and male television characters as a result of viewer sex and sex role orientation. Young adult viewers (N=677) rated television characters and themselves using the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Viewers were classified as feminine, masculine, androgynous, or undifferentiated in their PAQ orientations. The television characters were four men and four women who shared the lead and a working relationship on crime action shows. Results indicated that viewers rated all the male characters as stereotypical masculine, but only one female character as stereotypical feminine. Viewer sex and sex role orientations did affect ratings. Viewer sex had a greater impact on the ratings of female characters than on the ratings of male characters. Female viewers tended to rate female characters as higher in instrumental and masculine traits than male viewers did. Results based on sex role orientation of the viewer were inconsistent across characters, but in general, undifferentiated viewers rated both male and female characters as low in expressive and instrumental traits compared to how androgynous viewers rated them. Further, a masculine sex role orientation appeared to block perception of expressive traits in both male and female characters.

The purpose of this study was to examine the number and type of appearance comments made and received between female and male characters and whether the employment of women writers mitigated verbal interactions about appearance in the 1999–2000 prime-time season. The results show that although male and female characters comment equally on other characters' appearance, female characters are twice as likely to be the recipients of those comments. The gender of the receiver also influences the type of appearance comment made. Male characters are more likely to insult males than females and to compliment females than males. In contrast, female characters insult and compliment female and male characters with equal frequency. Overall, the employment of women writers is related to a significant increase in the overall number of appearance comments made and a significant decrease in the number of insults.

Gender-stereotyped roles of female and male characters are common in literature. Seeing that Harry Potter series has gained much popularity especially among children and teenagers, this qualitative paper attempts to investigate to what extent the author, Rowling (1997), confirms or challenges the gender stereotypes in the portrayal of the main male and female characters through her lexical (words) and grammatical (nouns, verbs, adjective and adverbs) choices. Halliday’s transitivity system is used to examine the lexis and structures that Rowling chose to describe the characters in her novel. Several scenes which contain descriptions about the main male and female characters were analyzed. Analysis of the excerpts from the novel showed that both the male and female main characters are portrayed with either feminine or masculine roles.

Trends of Sexual and Violent Content by Gender in Top-Grossing U.S. Films, 1950–2006

Communication is essential in society, as it allows individuals to express their thoughts, intentions, and feelings, directly impacting their quality of life. Language features are the foundation of effective communication. Learning language features are essential for effective interpersonal and intercultural communication. The research entitled The Implementation of Gender Language Features (Coates 2013) in the Prince & Me Movie aims to identify language features used by male and female main characters in the Prince & Me movie. In addition, this study will examine the factors that influence the use of language features by male and female main characters. This research will fill this gap by exploring how language feature traits are related to certain factors that influence language use in the context of the movie The Prince & Me. This study analyzes the data using Coates's (2013) theory of language features and Holmes's (2013) social factor theory. This descriptive qualitative research uses the purposive sampling technique—the data collected from the Prince & Me movie (2004). The findings show that women and men used the same language features with similar frequency. According to the research, Paige, the female character, and Eddie, the male character, used the question feature the most. This study also shows that the topic is the most frequent factor that influences the utterances of female and male characters.

ABSTRACTFemale characters are less likely to engage with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) content than male characters on young children’s television shows. The current study examined how preschool-aged children’s selective trust of male and female characters to teach STEM differed by child gender, and how trust relates to children’s character identification. Forty-eight 3- to 6-year-old children’s selective trust of male and female characters to teach STEM content, gendered character identification, and personal interest in STEM activities was measured. Boys and girls had similar interest in STEM and had greater identification with same-gender characters. Although boys had significantly greater trust in male characters, girls had similar levels of trust in male and female characters. Overall, children had greater trust of male characters to teach STEM content, but this effect was driven by boys, indicating identification and selective trust are related, but not identical constructs. The discussion considers how representations of female and male characters on television may impact children’s trust of educational media characters to teach STEM.

Female “Lone Wolves”: The Anti‐Social Heroine in Recent Television Series