Anatomy videos for medical students

The Trouble with Dora

Todays post is not a book review. Its a rant at how sexist stereotypes still persist. As any preschooler knows, Dora the Explorer is an intrepid pint-sized adventurer with a purple backpack and a boot-wearing monkey for a sidekick. A show featuring her exploits took off in 2000. Five years later, Doras cousin Diego was given his own series.

When my nephew was younger, he loved Dora and wore her backpack with pride. It didnt matter to him one wit that Dora was a girl. And yet, fourteen years after the shows debut, Dora has been sold out, a victim of merchandising. The above photo was snapped in my doctors waiting room. Sexism is so insidious that it took me a while to realize what was wrong with the decals stuck to the wall. But look closely. The toons body language says it all. Dora stands with her arms folded, legs crossed, while Diego is running full speed. The message is clear: Girls = Passive; Boys = Active. (I wont even go into the butterflies surrounding Dora versus the menacing paw prints near Diego.)

Not to be hasty, I checked to see if there are more active wall decals of Dora on Amazon. Not really. Theres one showing her holding a bunch of flowers and another, the best of the bunch, in which shes on tippy toes, arms wide open.

Now imagine a preschool boy seeing the two figures on the wall. Would he choose Dora as his model? Not likely. A preschool girl would, though. And with her choice comes the implicit message that boys do all the running.  

Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go generally get high marks from the media for setting nonstereotypical examples for its young viewers. Unfortunately, its licensing department has a long way to go.

Okay, todays rant is over.