If I Do It, That Means It's Normal

I've been struck recently by two animated TV shows that my sons have been watching a lot. I'm probably reading too much into this -- I always do -- but let me sketch it out.

Phineas and Ferb is a show about two boys, who are scientifically-oriented and who get into various odd troubles. They have a nagging, unpleasant older sister who doesn't like them and their science-y stuff.

Johnny Test (which has been around for longer, but which my kids started watching more recently) is about a boy who gets into various odd troubles, usually because of things created by his two scientifically-oriented older sisters (who don't much like him).

(And, yes, they're both the bastard stepchildren of Dexter's Laboratory, with a small genetic contribution from Jimmy Neutron.)

They seem like the same premise turned backwards, except for one thing: in both cases, it's the boys that are the audience-identification characters. One's message is that science is fun, and one's is that science is boring junk that girls do -- and both have the usual kids-show message that everything will come out fine in the end, no matter what stupid stunts you try -- but both shows know that what really matters is what boys do. What boys do is cool; what girls do isn't.

Even as a father of only boys, I'm uncomfortable with that.