Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Female Characters in the Media

Here is an insightful summary of a study the examines the (under)representation of female characters in the media. It not only points out the obvious gap but also explores why that gap exists and what can be done to fix it.
Tags: gender studies
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  • 4 comments
wyld_dandelyon

wyld_dandelyon

May 24 2008, 18:15:27 UTC 13 years ago

Oh, good for Geena Davis!
talithakalago

talithakalago

May 25 2008, 01:02:43 UTC 13 years ago

Its actually kind of depressing.

Kids learn from TV. More and more, as years go on, it seems. And what are they being taught?

I was largely kept away from TV as a child and I am still well aware most aspects of life would be easier for me if I were a man.

Anyone who believes we (westerners) live in a time of sexual equality is depressingly blind.

You think 3:1 is bad?

Anonymous

May 25 2008, 02:01:24 UTC 13 years ago

Try a day in my life. My engineering department (aero) is considered one of the better ones on campus because the ratio of male to female students is better than 10:1. My martial arts club is nearly as bad. In fact, the only place I go where I really associate mainly with other women is my part-time job in retail. There's still a ladies' room in the aero building where you can see that it used to be a mens' room, I'm the only woman in the research group I am working with, the only woman in my old lab groups, and the only woman in my senior design group.

To be fair, I can't ever recall having actually encountered any discrimination. I'm far more likely to have people ask me for help with the homework than what the hell am I doing here. But it's still a nice break to go to the annual WIE (Women in Engineering) Christmas party and bask in the glow of NOT being in the minority for a few hours.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: You think 3:1 is bad?

ysabetwordsmith

May 25 2008, 02:15:29 UTC 13 years ago

I've seen worse ratios than that. The first year I was in Young Astronauts, I was the only female-bodied person out of a couple dozen boys. The next year, a girl joined. *grin* But by the time my mother gave up sponsoring the club, the ratio was almost even.

How do you identify a really splendid bellydance troupe? It has a man dancing. The ration of female to male bellydancers is at least 20:1 and the men get nabbed up by the best troupes because they're so rare. (Male drummers associated with a troupe don't count; drummers are often men. They only count if they dance. Men's dance moves are different than women's moves.)