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First World Problems: Study Shows Women ‘Underrepresented’ in TV, Film

A study by the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC titled “Gender Bias Without Borders” has shown that females are “significantly underrepresented” in TV and movies across the globe.

The study was presented by Annenberg’s “Media, Diversity, & Social Change initiative.”

The Daily Trojan reports:

The data collected showed that women are missing from film. Within the sample set there were 2.24 male characters for every female character. Only 23.3 percent of films had a girl or woman as a lead or co-lead. Action-adventure movies had the fewest females — out of a total of 5,799 speaking or named characters, 30.9 percent were female. The study also looked at facets of physical appearance, including sexually revealing clothing, nudity, thinness and attractiveness. It found that female characters had higher percentages than men in every category, and a female is just as likely to be sexualized in a film if they are 13 or 39.

Gender imbalance varied by country. The study showed that the United States had one of the lowest percentages of female characters in film, while the United Kingdom had one of the highest. The sample of films that were collaborations between the United States and United Kingdom, however, had the lowest percentage of the 11 countries studied.

Action-adventure flicks had the least amount of women? Surely you jest!

Film student Ipek Kahraman said, “There is a certain male dominance in this industry, and even though there are organizations trying to change the situation like Women of Cinematic Arts at USC, the difference is still obvious.”

So the question then is … so? Does the industry need a “gender balance” to make things … “better?” Do we need more women in, say, the aforementioned action film genre? Or, does the general public actually prefer — gasp! — men in such roles?

Read the full article here.

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About the Author
Associate Editor
Dave has been writing about education, politics, and entertainment for over 20 years, including a stint at the popular media bias site Newsbusters. He is a retired educator with over 25 years of service and is a member of the National Association of Scholars. Dave holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Delaware.