It's when you examine the other "non-scientist" characters that you see the stereotypes go even further to extremes. In "A Dee Dee Cartoon" Dee Dee states that she is going to her lab after being kicked out of Dexter's. Up until that point Dee Dee had only shown interest in drawing unicorns, flowers and rainbows while singing LaLaLA; so I thought the show could actually try to break away from these stereotypes. However, inside her laboratory Dee Dee is shown in a montage of science-like activities that eventually lead to her baking a cake. This is in complete contrast to Dexter who builds super computers and performs advanced chemical reactions. Now the show may have redeemed itself by having other female characters play important roles, but the only scene Dexter's mom is in shows her dutifully washing the dishes, which, harking back to the times I watched Dexter as a kid, was a very common thing.