Despite the feminist movement reaching a new level of opportunity for change with the rise of social media communication, there still remains a strong under and unfair representation of women in the media.
Men are still outnumbering women in powerful positions in television and current affair programs. In 2012 women made up only 28.8% of characters with speaking parts in the top one hundred films. The majority of lead protagonists in television and film prime time slots are male characters. A report by the Women’s Media Centre revealed that women only accounted for 16% of executive producers, directors, writers, cinematographers and editors in media related roles.
Image source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/ways-women-are-still-underrepresented-in-the-media#hluual
What people are exposed to through the media will influence their perceptions of the world around them. Having a largely male dominated crew means that women will have less of an influence in the writing room, and that televised screen time will consist of a gender biased perception of the female ideal. This is clear through the lack of female presence in video games and/or their minor representation. The majority of female characters are designed as highly sexualised prizes for the male benefit. For example, in the video game Grand Theft Auto where the male character is able to drive around searching for prostitutes. In particular, some games even emphasise violence against women.
Image source: http://fygirlcrush.tumblr.com/
Research on the portrayal of women in the media has revealed that nearly ¾ of female characters in sitcoms are underweight. Additionally overweight female characters are subjected to appearance based jokes followed with pre-recorded set laughter. Images such as this create an unfair ideal of women and not only highlight the gender inequality still apparent within society, but sadly challenge the standards held of beauty.
Not only are women underrepresented in the media, but they also face unfair questioning and bias due to their gender status. A clear example of this prejudice was the inappropriate questions Channel Nine sports journalist Erin Molan faced throughout her first radio segment on Kiss FM. The presenter was exposed to sexist questions live on air including her number of sexual partners, and whether or not she had undergone a boob job.
It is so important for individuals to understand and acknowledge that this gender biased behaviour is not only unethical and wrong; it is also going to have huge psychological effects and repercussions on the next generation of young girls that will grow up observing the behaviours and interactions of those in the media spotlight.
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Mindy Kaling, popular star of US television show The Office, puts it best in the below statement.
“More than half the questions I am asked are about the politics of the way I look. What it feels like to be not skinny/dark-skinned/a minority/not conventionally pretty/female/etc. It’s not very interesting to me, but I know it’s interesting to people reading an interview. Sometimes I get jealous of white male showrunners when 90 percent of their questions are about characters, story structure, creative inspiration, or, hell, even the business of getting a show on the air. Because as a result the interview of me reads like I’m interested only in talking about my outward appearance and the politics of being a minority and how I fit into Hollywood, blah blah blah. I want to shout, “Those were the only questions they asked!"
- Mindy Kaling, Rolling Stone (http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/lena-dunham-hilariously-candidly-interviews-mindy-kaling-20131111#ixzz2kMxUr72d)
REFERENCES
Dunham, L. (2013, November 11). Lena Dunham Hilariously, Candidly Interviews Mindy Kaling. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/lena-dunham-hilariously-candidly-interviews-mindy-kaling-20131111#ixzz2kMxUr72d
Handel, J. (2014, February 19). Women Still Underrepresented in Film and TV, Study Says. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/women-still-underrepresented-film-tv-681485
News.com. (2014, August 22). Erin Molan quits Kiis FM after inappropriate and sexist questions during her sports segment. News.com. Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/erin-molan-quits-kiis-fm-after-inappropriate-and-sexist-questions-during-her-sports-segment/story-fnndfy6b-1227029489557
World Savvy Monitor. (2009, May). Portrayal of Women in the Popular Media. World Savvy Monitor. Retrieved from http://worldsavvy.org/monitor/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=602:portrayals-in-popmedia&catid=211:beijing-declaration&Itemid=1049
Yandoli, KL. (2014, February 19).11 Ways Women Are Still Underrepresented In the Media. Buzzfeed. Retrieved from http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/ways-women-are-still-underrepresented-in-the-media#hluual
OMG, I so agree with you! Its so frustrating to see these representations of women as 'too skinny'. Im glad to see we're on the same page :)
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