“Swiper, no swiping!”
If you have little kids, you instantly know this chant from Dora the Explorer.
If you have NOT explored the wonderful world of Dora, it’s fairly low conflict except for a character called Swiper. Swiper is a fox with a bandit mask who regularly steals items that Dora and her pals may need during their adventures.
While Dora the Explorer is a pretty cute show that encourages kids to problem solve (yes please!) it reinforces the ” bad guy” figure.
When it comes to good guy / bad guy play and kids, it can be difficult for parents to navigate.
THE ONE DIMENSIONAL BAD GUY
Kids’ shows have been forever sprinkled with villains. Gargamel from the Smurfs and Ursula from The Little Mermaid still linger in my memory.
Villains alone aren’t the problem. The problem is when they are one-dimensional – the “bad guy.”
Coincidentally, my daughter recently learned this term at school, and occasionally says “Mommy you’re a bad guy.” Charming, no?
She’s probably just trying to initiate play. But, still, it raised a yellow flag. The whole “bad guy” thing was nagging at me a little.
Bad Guy Play is Not All Bad
I recognize that good-versus-evil play is not all evil. In fact, this article makes good points about how it can be healthy for kids ages 3-6. It can connect them to their emotions, let them experiment with different power dynamics, and work out some of their fears.
Slightly timid kids may learn from Dora how to use a strong voice and be clear about their wishes. They learn how to say NO when needed – a fantastic lesson.
When my daughter tells us stories about other children taking toys from her or pushing her, we role play how she can respond to them clearly and directly. It’s important that she knows how to stand up for herself. Dora’s chant definitely helps with that.
Related: why I don’t want my kid to be polite
Drawbacks of Bad Guy Play
1. Ugly Villains. The villain is often portrayed in a visually “unappealing” way, suggesting that bad people are ugly. Which, of course, is not true. They also often use ethnicities, accents, and body types to suggest that “different” is bad. Villains like Ursula encourage fat-phobia, and Jafar from Aladdin portrays an evil Arab stereotype.
2. Usually “bad guys” are not as obvious in real life as on-screen. Sexual assault is most often committed by a person we know – in fact, 90% of child abuse victims know their abuser. (Darkness to Light.) The stranger danger lessons of 20 and 30 years ago are outdated and slowly being replaced by smarter awareness. But we still see those stranger danger lessons reinforced with scary, weird characters in fairy tales and other kids’ movies. Little Red Riding Hood, anyone?
More: 5 ways to teach young children about consent
3. Villains are usually male. My pal at Rosetintedtentacles pointed out the lack of female monsters and questioned why that is. When we DO see female villains, they almost ALWAYS appear fat or ugly (Ursula, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Queen of Hearts). But the lack of female villains sends a strange message to children – we do not expect women and girls to crave the power and dominance that men and boys do.
4. Lack of complexity. I’m admittedly undereducated about Star Wars and superhero stories, which seem to give more dimension to the bad guy. (Star Wars fans, feel free to comment below.) But in mainstream children’s literature and media this is less common. By season 3 of Dora the Explorer, viewers apparently learn a little more about Swiper – that he is actually bummed that he can’t speak Spanish. Perhaps that’s why he’s looking for attention? But we’ve only watched season 1 (because it’s free on Prime), which lacks much backstory about this character.
Why does he swipe? Why does he not usually keep the things he swipes?
Kids need to balance self-respect with compassion
Part of feminist parenting is to teach our kids about the gray area – that people have diverse backgrounds, emotions, abilities, and reasons for doing things. If a child pushes my daughter at school, he’s not necessarily a bad kid. She shouldn’t tolerate it, but she should also learn that perhaps he didn’t have breakfast this morning, his parents are going through a divorce, or maybe he has a developmental disability.
How can she learn about racism, xenophobia, and ableism without trying to understand the struggles others have experienced? Demonizing the “bad guy” as one-dimensional won’t help to develop compassion and curiosity.
Our children should stand strong in their values and bodily autonomy while using empathy to understand the struggles of those who may be “different.”
How do we strike the balance between self-respect and compassion for others?
Photo: “Nickelodeon Universe” by Jeremy Thompson License CC 2.0
Photo: “Ursula,” by Jenna.Wentz_Photography License CC BY-SA 2.0
Oh my gosh I absolutely love your breakdown of this important issue. I’m glad you brought up that villains usually make because it is always portrayed that woman don’t crave power. That is such an important thing to realize when teaching your children about morals, background, etc. Love this post!
Xo Logan
https://peculiarporter.com
Thanks Logan! Yes it’s so rare for women to be villains – which is funny because our culture loves to talk about “mean girls” – another phrase I find slightly problematic.
I just had a convo with my neighbor about the Disney movie villains and how it actually scares my daughters! Great post!
Yes! My kid gets easily scared, so full length movies are still too much for her!
As a mom of girls it is so hard to teach them the balance between self-respect and compassion especially when they are being raised in a completely different environment than I was and I want to maintain their innocence for as long as I can.
So true michelle. I really hear that. I want my daughter to respect herself at all costs but also have empathy and kindness for others whenever possible.
I never thought about villains this way. They are always ugly, which in life is not the case. Kids need to learn that the bad guy might not actually look bad.
Yes people who are mean in real life might be the best looking sometimes! Thanks for the comment Tara.
This is such an interesting post! Thank you for the perspective!
Thanks Jill! Glad you found it interesting.
This is really interesting to read! Growing up I was either totally scared of the villains or loved them. Bad guys are DEFINITELY not as obvious in real life which is important for kids to learn!
That’s awesome that you either loved them or was terrified. I can see that! Thanks for the comment. Yes, it’s good for them to see the gray area.