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I’ve got some thoughts about children’s media and gender. A thread. Keep in mind that lots of gender issues I’m still learning about and I’m listening to kids and it’s hard to get every thought into a tweet so these are evolving thoughts. Kid’s media, gender. Go! 1/
I had already been given reasons to consider gender when creating Fluffy Gardens before my first child was born. Is it a boy’s show? Girl’s show? It’s a kid’s show, I’d say. Often that answer wasn’t good enough. I’d be given snappy slogans on why that targeting was crucial. 2/
But I didn’t want a gendered show. I made some poor choices, such as clumsy gender signifiers, but I really wanted to represent all children in there among the characters, even though I still had a lot to learn. I hated how many times I needed to clarify that choice. 3/
Cut to now. Peers I admire in kids media are pushing for better gender representation of all kinds. It’s wonderful. At the same time, my kids are older. I see 1st hand how much of a big issue gender is for the current generation. From a young age kids are very aware of gender. 4/
In ways, it’s great. Kids are more free to express themselves. A much more accepting generation. Part of me wishes I was born into that - I can say with certainty that my own gender expression would probably be a little different. I mean, why aren’t these in men’s fashion? 5/
But some of it comes with negativity. Sometimes it’s not ‘this is me’ and more ‘all that is NOT me’. I see large scale rejection of old gender norms. Old stereotypes. Old boxes that we try to put men and women in and boxes that assume that’s all there is. Narrow definitions. 6/
I know people who grew up feeling alone, misunderstood and sometimes feeling like there was something wrong with them. Judged by people around them. They didn’t fit. And how could they? Old representations of gender and sexuality didn’t include them. It actively excluded them. 7/
Except when I say old, I don’t mean a 1950s view of gender. I mean what was happening when my peers and I first started making shows. Just before it and still long after. Even now. At the very least, we’re complicit. It’s in what we show to kids. 8/
While many areas of gender were improving, one was getting worse - toy aisles, with literal barriers between who a boy is and who a girl is. Not sorted by interests. Not sold by interests. All by pink and blue. You’re this or you’re that. And that’s all. 9/
Kid’s media fed that. Sometimes embraced it. Or preached it. We had to decide whether our show was a boy’s show or girl’s show. We had to make it clear. We had to skew things for that market. And then watch as girl characters were removed from blue schoolbags. 10/
That’s not to say we didn’t push back. I had a turning point when a distributor wanted a show but would only take it if we changed the main character to a boy. We refused. I love that show and love all who supported it (and still do) but we were not rewarded for that choice. 11/
And so you could all say, and you’d be right, that it’s how kid’s media is. That it was too dependent on the licensing and the toy companies. Right again. That doesn’t make it okay. Many felt like they had no choice. I get that. We’ve all got to eat. It still is what it is. 12/
Side note: shout out to Wonder Pets from Josh Selig and Little Airplane from 2006. Few really knew who was a boy and who was a girl on that show and no kid cared. But I bet Josh has some stories to tell of things he heard in funding and licensing meetings. 13/
Yet even those of us who push back (my kid’s media friends are warriors) need to know we’re part of it all. And that’s hard. Especially when we knew it was not just wrong for kids but often for business too. Seeing huge examples like Dora and Peppa dismissed as exceptions. 14/
So we’re complicit. As an industry, we’re flat out guilty. Right now, I see people still having to fight huge battles just to get better and more varied representation into children’s media. Like we’re decades behind the needs of the current generation. Maybe any generation. 15/
Kids need to see themselves in media. From a young age. With all the good, there is still anxiety and pain that can hit kids with gender issues. Feelings that they don’t belong. Had we done it better before, a lot of young people would have felt more secure in who they are. 16/
I know, I know. Media isn’t everything. But it’s a huge part of our lives. Not just kids. Most people I know in kid’s media understand the importance and the responsibility we have. It matters. We have access to young lives and can make a difference. For better or worse. 17/
Kids of all kinds and interests and personalities and genders and feelings just need to know they belong. That they matter. That they don’t have to fit in a tiny box. And they DO belong. They always belonged. Just show them that. It’s not even that hard. Just do it. 18/
tl;dr: I’m seeing 1st hand how important these issues are and it’s hitting home how what we’ve shown to kids in previous years wasn’t enough. Sometimes was even part of the problem. We still risk being part of the problem. Let our media catch up with where kids are. 19/
No excuses. Yes, we might get it wrong. But listen to all kinds of kids, all kinds of people, bring them in to drive concepts and shows. Teach them and learn from them. Go for it. If you’re in a top position, make it your mission. Make good stuff for kids. All kids. End probably/
