Abstract
The research conducted for this portfolio is for my senior Sociology capstone at Gettysburg College. When presented with the opportunity to conduct content analysis on a topic of our choosing, I immediately thought about studying gender representation in media. Being a woman entering the business world after graduation I found it intriguing to look into how women are represented in media specifically young women and how television portrays them over time. This is something important to me because the representation of women in media to young girls is extremely impactful on how they value themselves as they grow up.
Specifically, for my research, I chose to look at the characterization of female characters on Disney Channel over the course of a twenty-year time period; 2000-2020. For my sample, I watched five episodes from five different series. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, I was able to conclude that there is a correlation between the characterization of female leads, female stereotypes, and feminist movements over the years. Three main themes that arose from my analysis were From Skirts to Sweats: Changes in style over time, Boys, Books & Babysitting, and Reimagining Feminism.
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