When I was growing up, Lisa Simpson was one of my favorite characters on television. She was outspoken, not afraid to stand up for what she believed in (especially to her older brother) and very much wiser than her eight years of age. At the time, however, Lisa was one of the only young female characters of her ilk on TV. But the times, my friends, they are a-changing. According to a new article from Reuters, television executives are welcoming more shows with young female leads.
And it’s not just girls who are watching these shows, which include Dora the Explorer, iCarly, and the PBS show Word Girl, which is about a fifth grader whose secret identity is a super hero who fights improper word usage and teaches tough vocabulary words — somewhere my 6-year-old self just died and went to TV heaven. “There’s more than just the self-esteem of girls at stake. TV executives have found young boys have no problem watching shows with girls as lead characters, which can result in improved ratings — and advertising dollars,” the article reports.
On Nick Jr., more than half of the shows profile female characters who have lead roles or roles equal to those of their male counterparts. Brown Johnson, the president of animation at Nickelodeon, explained to Reuters that, “Little kids are much less prejudiced or judgmental about the sex of the characters they love. Little boys want to be Dora.”
iCarly, one of the most successful cable shows on television right now, is beloved by both boys and girls. Its star, Miranda Cosgrove, is the second highest-paid teenage actor on TV after Angus T. Jones, who stars on Two and a Half Men, a CBS show aimed at adults in a different demographic. It is also worthwhile to note that on a recent list published in the New York Post of the highest paid teen and child stars on television, the majority were females.
Was there a glass ceiling in television shows featuring young female leads? Someone call up Lisa Simpson, because I think it’s been effectively shattered.
Photo via Nick.com/iCarly.