The Geena Davis Institute has released its latest See Jane 2024 report, highlighting areas for improvement in how kids’ television in the U.S. represents gender, race, body size, and other aspects of identity.
The annual study, which examines programming popular with children aged two to 11, reveals that while there has been some progress in diversity, there is still room for growth—particularly in how female body types are portrayed.
Funded by the Nielsen Foundation, the See Jane study looked at newly released episodes and popular programming in the U.S. and found that, overall, the gender split on screen remains similar to the previous year: male characters make up 55.5%, female characters 44.4%, and non-binary characters 0.1%.
In leading roles, female characters saw a decline, dropping from 51.1% in 2022 to 43.8% in 2023.
However, in leading roles, female characters saw a decline, dropping from 51.1% in 2022 to 43.8% in 2023. Encouragingly, the report noted a record high for female leads in new programming, rising to 47.8% from 44.3% in the previous year.
Plus-Sized Characters: More Male Than Female
One of the report’s key findings focuses on body size representation. The study found that 6.1% of all characters in popular programming were plus-sized in 2023, down from 7.1% in 2022. However, new programming showed an increase in plus-sized characters, reaching 7.9%, compared to 6.3% the year before. The presence of plus-sized lead characters also grew substantially, from 2.7% in 2022 to 6.9% in 2023.
The report raised concerns about gender imbalances among plus-sized characters. Male characters are significantly more likely to be plus-sized than female characters
Despite this progress, the report raised concerns about gender imbalances among plus-sized characters. Male characters are significantly more likely to be plus-sized than female characters. In new programming, 65.1% of plus-sized characters were male, compared to 34.9% female, and the disparity was even larger in popular programming (73.1% male vs. 26.9% female).
"This imbalance reinforces the notion that the ideal feminine body type is thin," the report stated. It also emphasised the harmful effects of these unrealistic depictions, noting that body-image issues in girls can begin as early as age five.
LGBTQ+ and Racial Representation
While body-size diversity remains an issue, the report also highlighted other trends in representation. There were no LGBTQ+ leading characters in new programming in 2023, a drop from 2.4% the previous year.
On a more positive note, representation of people of colour in leading roles improved. In 2023, 63.4% of lead characters were people of colour, up from 56.1% in 2022. However, the report pointed out gaps in representation, noting that Native American, Middle Eastern, North African, and Latine characters remain underrepresented in children's programming.
The See Jane 2024 report offers recommendations for improving inclusivity on kids' TV, calling for greater diversity across all dimensions of identity. For more detailed findings, the full report is available for download on the Geena Davis Institute's website.
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