Portrayals of Male and Female Scientists in Television Programs Popular Among Middle School–Age Children

This content analysis examined portrayals of scientist characters in 14 television programs popular among or likely to have been viewed by middle school–age children. While male scientists significantly outnumbered and appeared in significantly more scenes than did female scientists, males and females were depicted similarly in reference to professional position, marital status, and parental status. Gender-stereotyped behavior was largely absent in portrayals of scientist characters. Additionally, both male and female scientists were portrayed most often with the wishful identification attribute of intelligence. Implications for middle school–age children’s perceptions of scientists and for cultivating girls’ interest in science careers are discussed. 1Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA 2Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA 3Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA 4Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, MI, USA 5JSS Academy of Technical Education, Bangalore, India Corresponding Author: Jocelyn Steinke, School of Communication, 218 Sprau Tower, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 USA Email: [email protected] Science Communication OnlineFirst, published on July 1, 2010 as doi:10.1177/1075547009357779 at MICHIGAN STATE UNIV LIBRARIES on November 2, 2010 scx.sagepub.com Downloaded from 2 Science Communication XX(X)