Disney's Gravity Falls is a positive show for children when it comes to gender. Of it's 5 main characters, 2 are vastly different females. Mabel, pictured above with her twin brother Dipper, is feminine, girly, quirky, and shown as very confident, however she thinks that if she lost her 'cuteness' she'd be nothing. Wendy, pictured below, works at the twin's great uncle (Gruncle Stan)'s store, The Mystery Shack. She is a laid back, somewhat tomboyish teenager who loves to have fun. Wendy lists off the list of guys she's dated to Mabel, who is seeking relationship advice. Even though Wendy has a long list of guys, some she can't even remember, this never makes anyone viewer negatively, as shows/the media usually do when a girl or woman has dated many guys.
Besides positive portrayals of female characters, Gravity Falls also has episodes dedicated to tackling topics like creepy boys, the 'friendzone', girls don't 'owe' boys, what true manliness is, being true to yourself.
Creepy Boys, The 'Friendzone', and that Girls Don't 'Owe' Boys
Gravity Falls accurately shows a creepy boy who feels he is friendzoned in The Hand That Rocks the Mabel. Lil' Gideon (shown below with Mabel), a 10-year-old psychic who is the twin's Gruncle Stan's arch-rival, befriends Mabel. He is adorable and pampered, and falls in love with Mabel. They start off as friends who really seem to hit it off; they do makeovers and somewhat girly things, but Gideon starts to make things weird and makes Mabel uncomfortable. She doesn't want to date him, but feels as though it's against her nature to turn him down. He asks her out in front of the whole town, where everyone loves Gideon (one old woman even says she'll literally die if Mabel doesn't say yes). Mabel can longer stand it and asks Dipper to tell Gideon she doesn't want to date him. Dipper says of course he'll do it; he doesn't like seeing his sister in great pain. After Dipper confronts Gideon, Gideon tries to kill Dipper. Gideon believes Mabel owes him because 1) he always get's what he wants and 2) he did nice stuff for her. After Gideon tries to kill Dipper and get his revenge, Mabel puts her foot down and uses Gideon's powers against him,. This episode, however, is not the only one that tackles the topic of girls don't 'owe' boys.
The other episode that tackles this is Boyz Crazy, where Dipper proves to Wendy that current boyfriend Robbie was hypnotizing her. She is sad and heartbroken, and breaks up with Robbie for lying to her. Dipper, who likes Wendy, asks her if she wants to get ice cream or something and she gets angry because she is still heartbroken and does not owe Dipper even though he did the right thing. Both of these examples are good for young girls as it teaches them that they do not owe boys anything for being nice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post, and I think it’s an interesting perspective. Even though Gravity Falls is intended for a young audience, it teaches it’s audience a very progressive lesson in the ‘The Hand that Rocks the Mabel’ episode. While the show presents a valuable lesson, it’s noted that in reality, the conception that men “owe” a woman something is very dangerous. From catcalls on the street to rejections at a bar, if women don’t “accept” a man’s invitation it could prove hazardous. An example of this would be a woman named Mary Spears. After the woman declined to go on a date with a man in New York City, the man killed her. We live in a culture where women cannot decline an advance without fear of stalking, assault, or worse. Women do not “owe” men anything, no matter how nice they come on, just like Mabel does not owe Lil Gideon anything just because he did nice things. “No” means “no.”