In Ian K. Macgillivray’s article entitled, “Using Cartoons to Teach Students about Stereotypes and Discrimination: One Teacher’s Lessons from South Park,” Macgillivray goes into extensive detail about various instructors’ utilization of cartoons in their classrooms. Elaborating on how students connect to cartoons Macgillivray states that, “Categorizing people by using a group label, in effect, highlights their similarities to one another and their differences from other people, which also “link[s] social groups to a whole constellation of other types of information” (Ehrlich, 2–3). In essence, stereotyping “makes it easier to store knowledge and to recall it” (Mcgillivray, 138). He also goes on to describe the four different reasons that he uses cartoons in the classroom. He asserts that “animated cartoons are an important part of popular culture… because cartoons are based on humor, they are especially apt texts for examining culture” and that “there is evidence that humor helps students to better process and accept information that negates stereotyping.” Moreover, and most importantly, “allowing students to identify with a cartoon character who is coming to terms with his or her own prejudices, which the student viewer may also hold, is less threatening in that it gives the student an opportunity to first see someone else (the cartoon character) going through the process of examining his or her own stereotypes.” Macgillivray then goes on to explain how other teachers use cartoons in their classroom by citing research that he uncovered regarding cartoons in classrooms.

These teachers discuss how the cartoons they used were effective, but they also gave warnings about how the overuse of cartoons can just perpetuate the negative stereotypes they portray as opposed to educating students. Macgillivray also explores in his article how analyzing the studies of cartoons over an expanse of time can help teachers tailor their lesson plans to their classes. Macgillivray dives into a number of studies including research regarding racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ stereotypes, as well as stereotypes regarding those with mental illnesses. This article is a great one to read, not only because it shows you how other teachers have used cartoons to teach kids about how to identify and engage with their biases, but because it also tells instructors how we relate to cartoons in such a way that allows us to project our biases onto the cartoon during class discussion and, in that projection, we feel safe from judgment because “it is what the illustrator is saying, not us.”