Study Task 2 - Writing a Research Question

For this task, I needed to write up a prototype question based on the themes I mentioned in the previous task. The main themes I am exploring are history and society; specifically how society's standards have changed over time. My first proto-question is:

'How has the portrayal of women, in animation, evolved over the last fifty years?'

Based on the feedback I have received, I am continuing to refine this question so that it isn't too broad, as I need to be wary of the word count.

My second draft is:

'How has the portrayal of women, in animation, evolved within this generation circa 1989 - 2019?'

Something I realised while looking at animated films and shows, and also something that was mentioned within areas of my research so far is that the main change began to appear in the nineties. So, I decided to change the question once more so I can compare the designs that came before the nineties to the designs that came after.

My question is now:

'How has the portrayal of women, in animation, evolved within this generation circa 1980 - 2019?'

I am going to focus on character design in my visual journal. At this point in time, I am hoping to produce some character turn-around sheets comparing previous character designs to the more diverse and inclusive designs of today.


Update:

The final question is:

'How has the portrayal of women, in western animation, evolved over the last forty years?'