Role of gender, professional level, and geographic location of artists on how they represent a story: the case of Little Red Riding Hood

Abstract

Little Red Riding Hood is a widely known classic story and its text has been abundantly analyzed, but no detailed statistical studies have been published about how it has been illustrated. We analyzed 554 images from the public artists' site DeviantArt (January, 2015); classified them according to how the wolf, Little Red, and the environment were represented by the artists; and applied non-parametrical statistical tests to check several hypotheses. When compared with professionals, amateur artists tended to present a more neutral environment, and to humanize the wolf. Female artists were more likely to represent the wolf as a dressed man. Men were more likely to set the story outside of forests, to eroticize Red and to show her confused, scared or uninterested when first meeting the wolf. The neutral attitude of amateurs towards nature suggests indecision, while professional artists seem more used to produce family-friendly images. The female tendency to present the wolf as a man forces them to dress him and may reflect a stronger awareness about the moral of the story, meant to warn young women about men's sexuality. Men deviate more from the forest setting because they feel safer in new environments, and also appear to see Red as a sexually attractive partner and the wolf as a competitor. Artists tended to show no sexual intent between the characters, but those who did were mostly amateurs. The global similarity in art about Little Red Riding Hood indicates that all modern audiences are familiar with the standard representation of the story in books, films and television. This article presents a rigorous quantitative approach to the study of art that can be applied to many other stories and subjects.Key words: artistic interpretation, cultural differences, effect of gender on art, fairy tale representation. RESUMEN: Papel del género, nivel profesional y localización geográfica de los artistas sobre cómo representan una historia: el caso de Caperucita Roja. Caperucita Roja es una historia clásica muy conocida y su texto ha sido abundantemente analizado, pero no se han publicado estudios estadísticos detallados sobre cómo se ha ilustrado. Analizamos 554 imágenes del sitio DeviantArt.com (enero de 2015); clasificándolas de acuerdo a cómo representan los artistas al lobo, caperucita roja, y el ambiente. Aplicamos pruebas estadísticas no paramétricas para evaluar varias hipótesis. En comparación con los profesionales, los artistas aficionados tienden a presentar un ambiente más neutral, y a humanizar al lobo. Los hombres son más propensos a ubicar la historia fuera del bosque, a erotizar a caperucita; y mostrar su confusión, miedo o desinterés durante el primer encuentro con el lobo. La actitud neutral de los aficionados hacia la naturaleza sugiere indecisión, mientras que los profesionales producen imágenes dirigidas a toda la familia. La tendencia femenina a presentar al lobo como un hombre obliga a vestirlo y puede reflejar una mayor conciencia sobre la moral de la historia, destinada a advertir a las...