Gendered Stereotypes in Gado Cartoons Images and the Attitudes on Gender Roles of Women in Kenya
Keywords:
Cartoons, Gender, Stereotypes, Newspapers, WomenAbstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between these gendered stereotypes in the Gado cartoon images and the attitudes formed about gender roles of women. Cartoon drawings remain an essential means of communication amongst most newspaper dailies. A simple drawing of a cartoon summarizes messages of publications, institutions, societies, regimes governments, organizations, or even persons. This is an analysis of a specific tool used to convey gendered messages often ignored perhaps because cartoons tend to be humorous and satirical concealing the irony, satire, and the serious messages behind the simple strokes. Data for analysis was received from 362 people using questionnaires as well as using content analysis analyzing 20 gendered cartoons. Cartoons were seen to have a huge impact on a larger part of the audience. Indeed, 54% of the respondents indicated that such negative portrayal of women in politics in cartoons makes them hate politics, 56% feel skeptical of women’s ability to lead and 72% of the women said they hate joining politics. However, 85.1% indicated that stereotypes are good with 94.2% indicating that stereotypes help them process the bulk of information that they face every day. Many of the respondents, however, indicated that the gendered stereotypes they see in the paper are not true. 70.4%, said that the stereotypes are false. Therefore, cartooning and caricature work is a serious means/tool of communication and should not be ignored. Also, cartoons need to be studied more closely and the messages synthesized further as well as the cartoonists restraining themselves by being objective and fair in their representation of society through their visual images. The images used were published between January 2009 and December 2013. The study recommended ethnographic research be conducted to identify more accurate responses on the effects and attitudes of this gendered cartoon.
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