1.
G E N D E R E D M E D I A M E S S A G E S I N F I L M
F R A N C H I S E S

2.
B U T I S I T A LWAY S T H E R I G H T C H O I C E ?
S E G M E N T E D M A R K E T I N G F O R B O Y S A N D G I R L S I S N O T H I N G N E W.

3.
W H AT ’ S
K N O W N
• There is plenty of research on gender
messages within films aimed at
children and teenagers, as well as
research focused on gender and toys
• Findings have shown that the content
of these films has an effect on the self
esteem of girls
• Studios find it more financially lucrative
to segment the market to boys vs. girls
than to have intersectional marketing
• Yet recently, there have been a series
of announcements regarding female-
oriented action franchises in the works

4.
W H AT ’ S N O T
K N O W N
• What do girls think and
what do they want?
• The extent of gendered
messaging contained
within actual film
promotions (trailers,
posters)
• Academic research on
franchise merchandise as
promotional materials

5.
O N E T H I N G I S V E RY C L E A R :
when it comes to action franchises, the existing
merchandise is not impressive.

6.
T H AT ’ S W H AT I ’ M T RY I N G T O F I G U R E O U T.
Essentially, it comes down to a chicken and egg
question.
!
Do toy companies not make superhero/non-
princess related toys for little girls because they're
not interested?
!
Or are they not interested in superheroes because
there is almost nothing available for them to latch
onto?

7.
K E Y
Q U E S T I O N S
• What kinds of gendered
messages are in promotional
materials for film franchises?
• How do these gendered
messages affect media
preferences among girls?
• How do these gendered
messages affect their
preferences for film related
merchandise?

8.
O V E R V I E W O F
M E T H O D S
• Content Analysis
• promotional materials such as trailers, posters,
and websites
• in-store observations of available franchise
merchandise
• online analysis of available franchise
merchandise
• Use Kay Vandergrift’s Model of Female Voices
in Youth Literature in coding guide
• In-depth interviews with 10-13 year old girls
• Carolyn Gilligan’s “Listening Guide method
will be used to analyze transcripts

9.
QUESTIONS?
E M A I L M E : MSPRIYANKABOSE@GMAIL.COM