GENDER IN CHILDREN’S TV PROGRAMMES: NO CONCEPT, YET WITH STEREOTIPES

Skopje, 24.04.2020 – The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services published the annual survey of gender in the media. This year, for the first time in the country, the survey presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the treatment of gender in children’s programmes. It covers 520 children’s programmes, of both domestic and foreign production, broadcasted in the period from 15 September until 15 October 2019, by seven national terrestrial televisions, as follows: MRT1 and MRT2’s Albanian language programme, Alfa TV, Kanal 5 TV, Sitel TV, Telma TV and Alsat M TV. The gender analysis was performed on 4,553 characters, of which 2,657 were female, 1,842 were male, while the remaining characters had no gender markers (e.g. animals).

In general, the study shows that most television stations do not have a well-thought-through concept of how and in which way, or through which programmes, to address children, and do not take care of cultivating their future audiences from an early age.

This lack of a concept can also be seen in the portrayal of gender roles. Prevailing among the domestically-produced feature programmes are the series that mirror the patriarchal perception of the gender roles of 19^th century societies, while there is a lack of programmes that present the contemporary standpoints which gender issues from a liberal point of view. On the other hand, the feature programmes of foreign production are obtained without any consideration of whether they are part of a franchise (sale of dolls, video games, children’s school equipment and other products), thus developing consumerism in children. These programmes abound with hard-to-reach idealized portrayals of the female and male bodies.

The study, which the RESIS Institute for Social Development Research prepared for the needs of the Agency, also provides indicators of the gender aspects in the children’s music, talk and mixed programmes, as well as specific recommendations for the Public Broadcasting Service and the private television stations. For more information please visit the following links:

Highlights from the 2019 Gender Survey

Gender in the Media in 2019: Analysis of the gender Aspects of Children’s Programmes Aired by the National Terrestrial Television Stations