A Canadian professor has been flooded with angry e-mails from parents after publishing a study saying that the popular children's TV show featuring Thomas the Tank Engine teaches children to be conformist -- and sexist. University of Alberta political scientist Shauna Wilton says she recognizes that Thomas—who works on the railway on the fictional island of Sodor—also stresses positive themes, such as trust, honesty, and hard work, but she notes that only eight of the 49 main characters in the current Thomas shows are female. Only one, Emily, is among the core team of steam engines—and she didn't show up until the TV series' seventh season. Is Thomas the Tank Engine sexist? (Watch a Fox report about whether Thomas the Tank Engine is sexist)
What nonsense: Thomas is a great role model for little boys, says Sally Morrell in Australia's Herald Sun. He's "kind, friendly, and helpful, and always tries his best." The show may appear un-PC to a mom with a little girl—after all, the original books were written in the 1940s by a minister for his son. But a lack of "train engines who wear lipstick" is far less sexist than all those Disney princesses.
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