Is Thomas the Tank Engine Sexist?

Is Thomas the Tank Engine Sexist?

"Professor Shauna Wilton also found that women are under-represented in the stories and what few female characters there are tend to have ‘secondary’ roles or be bossy."

The Island of Sodor is apparantly "blighted by a ‘conservative political ideology’ and a rigid class system that stifles self-expression, according to startling new academic research".

I personally loved this show as a kid so I’m biased. Whilst I believe the creator of the Railway Series (Rev. Awdry) was probably conservative, I don’t think this particular program demeans women or carries any politcal ideology/agenda. Yes, there is a lack of female characters and most have been relugated to secondry characters such as Daisy and Mavis. However both have been proven to possess strong, charismatic personalities.

The article also ignores the fact that the series underwent a major overhaul in 2004 to address these problems. The article cites an episode produced in 1984 based on a story written in the 1940’s.

So what’s your opinion? Any fans of Thomas here? Do you think this program instills conservative values into children?