Gender representation in children's programming on Turkish television: A public, private mass media analysis of the popular cartoon, Pepee

This study was developed to examine the popular cartoon Pepee, which is broadcast on a private TV channel in Turkey, considering gender equality. The results are discussed by comparing them with the results of another study that scrutinizes the broadcast of the same cartoon on a Turkish public TV channel (Kalayci, 2015). The purpose of this comparison is to determine whether the messages on gender equality/inequality differ in terms of TV channels' belonging to public and private media corporations and whether the messages are similar or different. The research is designed in a descriptive model and has qualitative research characteristics due to utilizing the document review method. The documents analyzed in the study are audio-visuals, the 30 episodes of the cartoon Pepee which were broadcast on a private television channel. The themes determined by Kalayci (2015) were used in the collection and analysis of the data. Although the number of gender equality messages were reduced in Pepee's private media broadcast episodes compared to the public media, they still exist. The results show that women's and men's gender roles are considerably homogenized between private and public mass media. The differences are notable but not greatly significant. This is a solidification of the critical literature on both state and private mass media and ideological hegemony. This paper works to analyze scientifically the behavioral characteristics of the characters regarding the development of gender role modelling. It finds that regardless of media company control, consistent themes of female domesticity, and relative passivity and male vocational activity putting them at a relative distance from the nurturing components of home living.While democratic discourses are found in some episodes of the Pepee cartoon that were examined, the opposite practices are also present implicitly. Although the media are conceptually and practically categorized as private and public, the contents of broadcasts of both are shaped in line with the ideology of the "state," and the continued privatization and homogenization of both social and private space. As digital and social media expand greatly, traditional mass media still hold an important place in social education. If countries advocate a democratic way of life, continued critical evaluation of the expression of mass media is still essential, concerning the process of entertainment and it's ideological, educational function.