R is for Rebellious

By Mariana Figueredo and Camila Rico

“Sometimes a baby`s gotta do what a baby`s gotta do,” main character Tommy, from the animated TV series Rugrats, proudly announces. And that means not only napping and wetting diapers but also smashing some universally fixed gender ideas. Of course, little Tommy and his friends are not alone along the way; they have their families to back them up. After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Imagined and created at the beginning of the 90´s, Rugrats is one of the three original series broadcasted by the North American TV station Nickelodeon. After being on the screen for thirteen years, its last episode aired in 2004. The programme focused on the toddler’s gang made up by Tommy, Chuckie and the twins Phil and Lil while they are discovering the world. Angelica, a bit older than the rest, is the evil cousin who is always looking forward to every opportunity to scare and bully the babies. Last but not least, the parents of the kids play an important role in the construction of the children’s personalities. The success and the millions didn’t take long to arrive for the show... and neither did the critics.

Rugrats is not just another 15-minute TV programme about kids, but one of those TV programmes defying dominant conceptions and seeking for a different perspective. It represents a non-conventional idea of social and family roles in which roles are not clearly fixed but interchangeable. In this sense, Rugrats clearly breaks with the gender stereotypes symbolically imposed in our society.

While the playpen does all it can, neither material nor symbolic limits are enough: limitation is a foreign word for the babies. In the episode "The Clan of the Duck", Phil and Chuckie decide to wear dresses since it is hot and dresses make everything easier. Girls wear dresses, so why can’t they? At first, both babies are mocked by two kids in the park. But then, more importantly, they are cheered up by their parents who let the boys keep the dresses. For their parents, these limits don´t reach them either: Betty, Lil and Phil’s mother, wears male-like sport shorts; and Charlotte, Angelica’s mother, is never seen without her black suit. Rugrats doesn't draw the common gender limitations for each of its characters, and the clothes they decide to wear are a clear example of it.

Moreover, dolls and pink are not the only options for a girl: mud, business and joint locks can be too. Female characters such as Lil and her mother are portrayed as “tomboyish”. Lil loves playing in mud and eating worms like her brother. Betty is an old pro-wrestler woman who proudly calls herself a feminist. She wears a blue head band, sneakers and a loose t-shirt with the female symbol on it. Charlotte is Angelica’s workaholic mother. She works as a CEO for a very important company. Both mother and daughter like fashion and shoes, but they also like being powerful and independent. Defying the conception of women as the weaker sex, women’s talents or abilities in Rugrats are not restrained by their sex.

Parenthood is not women’s exclusive work. In episode “Potty-Training Spike”, Tommy and Chuckie claim to teach Spike, Tommy’s pet, not potting near the tree of the garden. For that, Tommy names himself Spike’s father, and Chuckie chooses to be “Spike’s other father”. While some will consider this expression as homosexual, the meaning lies beyond the words: it is in the family examples the babies are exposed to. Fathers in Rugrats have aprons at hand, for dirty diapers or cooking emergencies may arise at any time. Chuckie’s dad, Chaz, is a timorous single parent who loves cooking and working on his greenhouse. Tommy’s dad, Stu, works at home as a toy inventor, but will take as many breaks as necessary to feed, play and take care of his son. That’s why it is not strange that Tommy and Chuckie call themselves fathers of Spike (and not father and mother), since both are taking responsibilities in teaching the dog. Men in Rugrats challenge traditional masculinity.

In a society where many TV programmes keep repeating the lucrative and old stereotypes, it is important to distinguish this particular show that takes risks in showing something different to young audiences. For children have the right to express who they are and who they want to be, and Rugrats is an excellent tool to expand their horizons. So as Tommy says, “Hang on to your diapies, babies,” for there are stereotypes to break.