The study examines how gender roles are constructed in a popular animation for preschool children.

An article co-authored by Prof. Dr. Tutku Akter Gökaşan, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and faculty member of the Department of Psychology at Girne American University (GAU), and Gürkan Gökaşan of the Department of Graphic Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture at Cyprus International University (CIU), has been published in SN Social Sciences, a Springer Nature journal.

The article, titled "Representation of social structure and family relations in new generation animations: reconstruction of gender roles and social relations in 'Cocomelon'", appeared in Volume 6 of the journal on 8 October 2026.

Using the semiotic approaches of Saussure and Barthes, the study examines how gender roles, family relations and social structure are represented in Cocomelon, a YouTube animation for preschool children. According to the findings, the series associates masculinity with outdoor space, technical skill and power, and femininity with domestic life, caregiving and emotionality, and presents this division as if it were natural.

The researchers point out that more egalitarian representations are possible in other productions of the same genre. The article also offers recommendations on parents watching together with their children, content design, and platform-level regulation.

Access to the article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-026-01782-1