Children's Perceptions of Male Stereotypes

In their report, 63 percent of boys said that society and media portray that ‘real men’ should never and would never say no to sex; however, only 28 percent of them actually agreed with this statement. [1] Other research has found that male characters in media don’t have to conform to these stereotypes to be successful – and, in fact, some boys actively disliked elements of these portrayals as well as adults’ stereotyped views of which media were “for” different genders. According to one eleven-year-old,

Adults expect girls to play with dolls and boys to play with cars. That’s sad. A friend of mine is a boy and likes to play with dolls. His father berates him for that. So, we put the toys together, and the adults don’t notice that he likes to play with dolls.[2]

While boys admire characters who are able to master challenges and solve problems and generally dislike characters they see as victims, being violent or angry wasn’t part of the characters’ appeal. Rather, boys like seeing characters that solve problems through action of any kind,[3] even in traditionally female activities such as cooking,[4] and are actually less likely to identify with violent characters.[5]

Characters also don’t have to be portrayed as leaders or perfect heroes to appeal to boys so long as they are portrayed as being problem-solvers, whether by “getting over” hurdles in the traditional way or by subverting challenges by “getting under” them.[6] Boys also complain about media portrayals that show them as being stupid, aggressive, violent or criminal.[7] 

Overall, research has shown that most boys do not endorse “Man Box” rules,[8] and make a distinction between the ideal of a “real man” – formed in large part by media – and their own views of what makes a “good man.” As Liz Plank puts it in For the Love of Men, “it’s clear that the characteristics associated with a ‘good man’ come from a place of strength and that characteristics associated with a ‘real man’ come from a place of fear.”[9]

[1] Watching Gender: How stereotypes in Movies and on TV Impact Kids’ Development. (Rep.) (2017) Common Sense Media. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/watching-gender-how-stereotypes-in-movies-and-on-tv-impact-kids-development

[2] Dias, P., & Tavares, R. (2021). Gender Representation in TV Advertising for Children: Children’s perceptions and advertising literacy. Comunicação Mídia e Consumo, 18(53), 510-533.

[3] Götz, M. (2014). TV-hero (in) es of Boys and Girls: Reception Studies of Favorite Characters. Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

[4] Newman, Andrew Adam. Toy Pitches Half-Baked. Adweek, March 14 2010.

[5] Weaver, A. J., Jensen, J. D., Martins, N., Hurley, R. J., & Wilson, B. J. (2011). Liking violence and action: An examination of gender differences in children's processing of animated content. Media Psychology, 14(1), 49-70.

[6] Winter, Reinhard and Gunter Neubauer. Cool heroes or funny freaks: Why certain programmes and TV characters appeal to boys. Televizion, No.1, 2008.

[7] Götz, M. (2014). TV-hero (in) es of Boys and Girls: Reception Studies of Favorite Characters. Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

[8] The Men’s Project & Flood, M (2020), Unpacking the Man Box: What is the impact of the Man Box attitudes on young Australian men’s behaviours and wellbeing? Jesuit Social Services: Melbourne

[9] Plank, L. (2019). For the love of men: From toxic to a more mindful masculinity. St. Martin's Press.