Rainbow Brite, before and after her recent makeover
The results can be viewed here (PDF). Among them:
Study 1: G-rated movies from 1990-Jan. 2005:
- Fewer than one out of three (28%) of the speaking characters (both real and animated) are female.
- More than four out of five (83%) of the films’ narrators are male.
- 85.5% of the characters in G-rated films are white, 4.8% are black, and 9.7% are from “other” ethnicities.
- 73% of the characters are male. This translates into a ratio of 2.71 males to every 1 female.
- Females were over five times as likely as males to be shown in sexually revealing
- clothing, which was defined as attire that enhances, exaggerates, or calls attention to any part of the body from neck to knees.
- Females were nearly three times as likely as males (10.6% vs. 3.4%) to be shown with a thin figure.
- Style of presentation affects how females are featured in G-rated films. Animated females are more likely to be shown in a thin and sexy light than are live action females.
Study 4: TV for Kids 11 and Under: Prevalence, Portrayal, Appearance
- Sample-wide, the ratio of males to females was 1.67 to 1, including characters presented alone, in groups, or as narrators. Animated programs in particular are more likely to show males.
- In live-action formats, females occur more frequently in groups than males. However, an almost equal portrayal appears with single-speaking male and female live action characters (ratio = 1.24 males to 1 female).
- The research suggests that the “healthiest” balance of male and female representation is found in shows rated TVG. Further, TVG shows depict the highest proportion of non white, ethnic minority characters.
- Females are almost four times as likely as males to be shown in sexy attire. Further, females are nearly twice as likely as males to be shown with a diminutive waist line.
- Females in animated contexts are more likely to be shown in sexually revealing attire than are females in live action contexts (24.5% vs. 17.4%). Females in animated stories are more likely to have small waists (36.9% vs. 6.9%) and have an unrealistic body shape (22.7% vs. 1.2%) than are females in live action stories
- Additionally, animated action males are more likely than their live action counterparts to have a large chest (15.4% vs. 4.9%), small waist (18.4% vs. 4.3%), and unrealistically muscularized physique (12.5% vs. .5%).
Strawberry Shortcake, before and after her recent makeover.
That's a lot to take in, and most of it is Not Good. I haven't seen anything from the Institute attempting to explain these results, but what immediately comes to my mind is this: Both boys and girls will watch movies and shows that prominently feature boys. But boys are less interested in movies and shows that prominently feature girls, because such movies and shows are labeled as "girly." (Whether that is a real or imagined statement about boys, I don't know.) (Also, I know that is a theory that has been written about before, but for the life of me I cannot find any links to such material. If you can point me to it, please do!) So, for profit's sake, it probably makes more sense for the people producing shows to aim most often for the widest audience which, under this theory, would be boys and girls. The result: a lot more boys in the shows than girls.
Anyone else have a theory about this? Thoughts on why girl characters are so sexualized, even in shows aimed at kids? I don't watch a lot of kids' shows, so I can't speak to which ones are better/worse than others. Any we should all be aware of? What steps can be taken to try to correct some of this?