Alternative female portrayals in movies: The impact of strong animated women on the viewing audience.

There has been an observable increase of alternative female leading characters that possess non-stereotypical attributes in animation. It has been shown in previous research that stereotypical female portrayals are capable of influencing notions and perceptions held on women by viewers (Calvert & Huston, 1987). Considering this societal impact, it is important to investigate these portrayals as well as developments thereof. Research on this topic, has been considerably lacking in respect of the most current alternative female portrayals and audience effects, especially regarding animation. Most studies that have touched upon this particular subject have been performed more than a decade ago and were geared towards the effects of stereotypes rather than those of non-stereotypical characters. This study was hence affiliated with uncovering audience effects of alternative animated female characters. An experimental study was performed in which two separate research groups were subjected to animated videos that contained stereotypical or non-stereotypical female characters. After viewing, the respondents had to fill out survey questions enquiring about their prejudice towards women, mood and levels of self-objectification. Results showed no effects regarding the displayed female character and prejudice against women, nor were there effects concerning self-objectification. Respondents who viewed non-stereotypical content, however, did show a significant increase in positive mood, whereas those who viewed stereotypical content showed a decrease. Male respondents also showed significantly more prejudice towards women and a significantly larger decline in positive mood than female respondents. This study managed to add some updated knowledge to the current field that could inspire further study into the effects of media content on mood and the effects of gender on prejudice.