Television Representation

(Top: Emily Fields, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin and Spencer Hastings [Pretty Little Liars]; Bottom: Aiden, Krissy Chambers and Josephine Barnes [Supernatural])

The stereotype of television shows aimed at teenage girls is that they follow around the plot line of a pretty, popular, preppy schoolgirl and her quest for a boyfriend. I feel that this stereotype is widely unfair on both the television industry, and teenage girls.

Recently I read this article on how teenagers are negatively affected by the media and television shows, and one thing that really stood our to me was this paragraph:
"The teen years are a time when your child may have her first romantic relationship and begin to think about her sexuality. This is a confusing period in which your child is getting a mix of messages from peers, adults and the media. TV programs may glorify promiscuity or make your teen think that acting in a sexual way is acceptable, if not expected, from her. According to the AAP, parents should take the time to talk to their children about the sexual situations that they see on TV. This can help the teen to understand the negative aspects of promiscuous actions and discuss real-life consequences."
The reason this paragraph stood out to me was because of the way it was worded. "TV programs may glorify promiscuity or make your teen think that acting in a sexual way is acceptable". Hold on. The first problem with this article was the fact that they had absolutely no supporting evidence, or even examples of shows that portrayed this particular message; they just assumed that all teenage TV shows were centered around sex. The second problem was the amount of shaming going into this small segment. ". . . make your teen think that acting in a sexual way is acceptable". So, being intimate or sexual with a partner is unacceptable? Teenage girls seeing another teenager, not too dissimilar from herself, involved in a sexual relationship is not going to suddenly make her go out and have sex with the first person she sees. If the message portrayed in the scene is one glorifying safe sex with two consenting people in a relationship, that is probably (if not definitely) a very good thing. Rather than the idea of sex being hushed and taboo, it could be a much more open, and accepted topic, which would be better than making girls feel shamed for it. I do agree with this article when it points out that parents should talk to their children about these issues, and the consequences of some actions, but this brings me back to the first problem, the lack of any supporting evidence or examples from other television shows. Maybe I have just been watching the wrong kind of television shows, but I have personally never seen girls wearing overly promiscuous clothing or having sex every few minutes.

At first glance, the TV show 'Pretty Little Liars' seems to be just another one of 'those' teenage girl shows that you could compare to Gossip Girl or The OC, and in many ways, it is. The comparisons to Gossip Girl come in bucket loads, all the way from scandalous affairs, to anonymous terrorises. Pretty Little Liars is aimed at a target 14-18 year old age range. The plot line is based off the young adult book series by the same name, written by Sara Shepard. One of the main writers of the show is I. Marlene King, who also wrote the movie "Just my Luck". The two people with the largest say in the writing of this show are women, which is probably why the show feels quite relatable most of the time.

In a very classy way, Pretty Liar Liars avoids many teenage girl stereotypes. The first, and most obvious, is the "I hate my parents" stereotype. All of the parents of the main characters in Pretty Little Liars are complex, unique and different. Sure, they have arguments, but these parents are the closest thing to "real" then I have seen in any other form of media. For example, Hanna Marin's father walked out on them when she was young, and her and her mother, Ashley, are much closer due to their circumstances. Hanna doesn't blame her mother for her father's abandonment, and Ashley always tries to make sure she's doing the best for Hanna (whether or not it may be morally sound). Ashley also acts like a mother to the other three girls, especially Emily. Emily's mother was not very accepting of her when she first came out as gay, but Ashley was. When Emily's parents moved to be closer to work, Ashley offered for Emily to come and live with them until everything was sorted, which ended up being a permanent thing. This is good for teenagers to see, because it allows them to see a healthy mother/daughter relationship, and to see the dynamics of this relationship. Many girls would be able to relate with Hanna on being close with their mother after their parents separated; and others may see this relationship and strive to gain a closer relationship with their mother because of what they have seen.

The second stereotype they ignore is the "sassy black best friend". Emily Fields is considerably darker than the other three main girls, even if her ethnicity is never fully explained. Nor does it need to be. Emily's character brings a feel of diversity to the show, without it ever being made a big deal of. And Emily is also portrayed as the kindest character in the series. Emily is also a competitive swimmer and a lesbian. Her costume is a lot more tomboyish than those of Aria, Spencer and Hanna, often choosing comfortable hoodies and flats in favour of skirts and heels. She wears the most minimal makeup of the four, and barely ever wears more than a small necklace as jewelry. She wears her hair down or tied back in a simple ponytail most of the time, often not styled. She has a very close relationship with her father, who seems to be of Asian descent and is in the military. Her mother was, at first, very judging of Emily's sexuality, but has grown to accept her. In short, Emily is one of the least stereotypical characters I have ever seen.

Hanna, on the other hand, unfortunately wears her stereotype a lot better. Hanna is the popular, pretty 'it' girl. She's blonde, short and skinny, and all the boys fall at her feet. She is shown in the Pilot episode as being a kleptomaniac in order to gain attention from her absent father, even though her mother makes it clear that she doesn't need to do that. "I give you everything you need to be popular". She wears very fashionable clothing and quite a lot of makeup. What she says is usually quite ditsy, e.g. "Please, Jenna can't hear us. She's blind." and "I always hated Biology. Who cares how a cell divides, it just does!". This re-enforces the 'dumb blonde' stereotype. It is also shown that Hanna once suffered with weight issues, shown in the flashback scenes to be much chubbier and much less desirable. In a present scene when her and her mother have a salad for dinner, Hanna is shown picking out all of the meat. Rather than this being a negative stereotype glorifying eating disorders, I see it as a good way to show teenage girls that while Hanna may seem perfect, pretty and popular on the outside, she is hiding a lot of issues inside. I can't help but want to compare her to Aubrey from Pitch Perfect, both of whom were pretty blonde girls suffering with daddy issues. Hanna's character, however, shows a lot more character development. Granted, four seasons compared to a two hour movie leaves a lot more room for character development. Hanna stops being the 'it' girl in the high school, and returns to her friendship with Spencer, Aria and Emily after the four get pulled back together by the mysterious 'A'. She ends up dating a boy named Caleb, who is an orphan and homeless, who Hanna takes under her wing in a fashion that is very unlike her. It's interesting to see how someone like Hanna, who has never been worried about money, relates to someone like Caleb, who is constantly worried about money. It's a nice and refreshing change to see in teenage TV show, compared to the perfect relationships between two teenagers of the same race, social status and social background.

Another television show that seems to show teenagers in a more positive light is Supernatural. Supernatural is aimed at an older age demographic than Pretty Little Liars, hitting around the 18-mid 30's age range. Therefore, teenagers are not the intended audience, and the main characters are mostly in their twenties. However, a small group of teenagers are represented and they are represented well. The leader of this small group is Krissy Chambers, a teenage girl whose father used to hunt supernatural creatures, before he was killed by a vampire. Krissy, driven by her need to avenge her father's death, joins up with two other teenagers who lost their families in similar way; Aiden and Josephine. Under the guidance of an older hunter named Victor, the three begin to hunt down the vampires that killed their families. As the plot progresses, we learn more about Victor's lies and manipulation, until it was revealed that Victor killed their families to bring the three together and into hunting. Krissy is originally angry, and wants nothing more than to kill Victor, but she does something worse. In a very symbolic way, Krissy shots three empty shells in Victor's direction, one for each of the lives he has ruined. Her, Aiden's and Josephine's. Krissy is portrayed as a very wise and intelligent young girl, far beyond her years. She is capable and independent. One part I particularly like was the relationship between Aiden and Krissy. Aiden was obviously head over heels for Krissy, but she honestly couldn't care less, because it wasn't what she saw as important. By the end, when Dean leaves Krissy and her group, he calls Aiden to the side. Aiden thinks Dean will give him the whole "If you hurt her I'll kill you" speech, but to his surprise, Dean says, "If you hurt her, she'll kill you.".

Krissy wears very little makeup and wears traditional 'hunter' clothing, which mostly consists of flannel shirts, jeans and boots. She ties her hair back in a messy ponytail, simply for practicality, and seems to always be hiding a gun on her. She is quite small for her age (which is hinted to be around fifteen to sixteen), but never lets this be a disadvantage. She speaks to people in a mostly scornful way, especially Dean. She is very sarcastic and very witty. She has a no nonsense attitude and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. "You're never too young to kill monsters, especially the ones that kill your family.". "Look, I don't need you to save me Dean, I'm not a little kid anymore.". Krissy has no problem standing up for herself and telling people what she really thinks.

Understandably, Krissy's situation is not entirely relatable. I don't personally know any teenage girls who are motivated to avenge their father's death by killing the vampire that killed him, but there are certainly parts of her personality that teenagers can relate to, and are realistic. For example, Krissy is, in no way, shape or form, motivated by romantic love. Sure, she is motivated by the love for her father, and for the cause, but she sees Aiden and his advances as little more than an irritant. She is hard working, loyal and dedicated, and doesn't see herself as needing protection. She manages to balance school and hunting, and is described by Victor as "a natural born leader". It is good to see this kind of representation, especially for teenage girls. But the problem is that this show isn't aimed at teenage girls. Krissy's character could show teenage girls that they can be leaders, strong and loyal, but teenage girls aren't going to be the ones that see Krissy. Girls like her should be included in show like Pretty Little Liars. Okay, maybe not vampire hunting teenagers, but independent and strong willed girls whose lives don't revolve around finding a boyfriend.

The representation of teenage girls in both of these shows is interesting to compare. The girls in both shows have their good points and bad points. Since they are both two very different genres, the girls are in different situations. The girls in Pretty Little Liars are shown as widely dependent on each other, and the other people in their lives, whereas Krissy may be loyal, but she can fend for herself. The Liars are very involved in romantic love lives, but Krissy just doesn't have time for that. To me, this related back to the intended audience. The intended audience for Pretty Little Liars are girls the same age as the Liars themselves. The girls in Pretty Little Liars are supposed to represent them, and how they feel at the current time. Krissy is shown to a target age demographic of those much older than her, who have already lived through their teenage years and can look back at them fondly. They don't want to remember the troubles they went through, they want to see themselves as wiser and acting older than they were; while also looking at Krissy with a certain amount of fondness, the way you'd look down at a younger sibling. It is very clear the way that different teenagers are shown to different age groups, and the different kinds of stereotypes they apply to both.