Excerpt Taken from the New York Times -- May 1,
1997
Women Underrepresented in Movies and TV
By DINITIA SMITH
Across a broad range of media, in films, in television, including
commercials, and in magazines for teen-agers, women are more
likely to be shown preoccupied with romance and personal
appearance than they are having jobs or going to school,
according to a new study released today by Children Now, a
children's advocacy group based in Oakland, Calif.
The study, conducted by Dr. Nancy Signorelli of the University of
Delaware, for Children Now and the Kaiser Family Foundation, also
showed that despite the fact that women make up a majority of the
population, most characters -- 63 percent in movies and 55
percent in television -- were men. In music videos, 78 percent of
performers were men.
The study was released in conjunction with a conference in Los
Angeles on Children and the Media. It is believed to be the first
to look at representations of women across a spectrum of media.
The study was conducted in fall 1996 and reviewed 23 top-rated
television shows, 15 movies, three weeks of top 20 music videos
and four issues of leading magazines for teen-age girls: YM,
Sassy, Teen and Seventeen.
On television, the study found, 41 percent of men were shown
working, as opposed to 28 percent of women. In movies, the
difference was more striking, with 60 percent of men and 35
percent of women shown working.
In both television and films, women were more likely than men to
talk about romantic relationships.
In magazines for teen-agers, 35 percent of articles were about
dating, while only 12 percent discussed school or careers, and 7
percent discussed sex, including sexually transmitted diseases
and unplanned pregnancy. Only 3 percent of articles focused on
drugs and smoking.
In movies, women were more likely than men to have their looks
commented upon, and in all media, women were more likely than men
to be perceived as thin or very thin.
Still, the pollsters found it good news that women in film and
television were shown as intelligent and as problem-solvers. In
movies, 69 percent of women were shown using their intelligence,
and in television, 34 percent. Self-reliance was stressed in 35
percent of female characters on television and in movies.