Jane Lane
"I like having low self-esteem, it makes me feel special"
Bio
Jane Lane is the fellow outcast and best friend to Daria. She aspires to be an artist, often shown creating art pieces in her room. Her lack of a present parent figure allows her independence in comparison to Daria who is often grounded or forced out of her comfort zone by her parents. Unlike Daria, she does poorly in school, only succeeding in her art classes. She’s also depicted as an athlete who runs track, even joining the school team in one episode. One of her closest relationships is with her sibling, her brother Trent.
Gendered Hobbies
Jane Lane is the clearly portrayed as the artist of the show. She rejects any idea of improving her scholastic abilities in school, only concentrating on her artwork. She represents the stereotype of the artistic female who lacks logical thinking, such as mathematical or scientific skills or interests, but a girl who finds strength in artistic expression and emotions. This is a common occurrence in high schools, and a stereotype that is often prevalent in high schools. Even though men are much more similar than different in cognitive ability and skills, men are more likely to succeed in mathematics and choose a career in science (Crawford 101). "Daria" plays into these stereotypes where the two female leads, Daria and Jane, both have artistic strengths of writing and studio art. These portrayals continue the stereotype in that "because gender stereotypes ascribe autonomy and rational thought to men, it is difficult to imagine women enjoying (and being good at) a career that calls for these attributes" (Crawford 103). Young teen girls watching this show reinforce the separation of women and math/science and are indirectly discouraged from pursuing math/science careers. Jane reinforces artistic femininity stereotypes, but also breaks away from them.
Jane is also an athlete, a track runner. She runs as a hobby and in Episode 211: See Jane Run, she joins the track team (Daria). Track was a predominantly male sport until the 1970's and in "Daria" there are little to no female athletes depicted. Instead of retaining the weak, physically powerless artist, her character provides a more able-bodied woman who is physically strong and succeeds in athletic ability. According to Lesko, "the social relations of sports create a small group of privileged young men who dominate women and lower-status men, which they learn in their teens" (155). Just by being female, she breaks away from the dominated female image, and as a successful athlete, she mirrors equality in sports in high schools. She does receive criticisms from Fashion Club with "you're supposed to date jocks, not be one." There is obviously a significant message that women can participate in sports, not just be the "bounty won by athletes" (Lesko 154). Because young girls see a representation of a strong female athlete, it facilitates attitudes that pushes girls to imitate them and engage in sports normally dominated by males.