55-year-old actress Geena Davis (Beetlejuice, Thelma & Louise) and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media, along with Senator Kay Hagan and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin joined together last month to propose a bill that would improve the positive images of young girls and women in the media.
“I am proud to join with Sen. Hagan and Rep. Baldwin to promote gender equality and positive portrayals of women and girls in the media,” Davis was quoted saying. “What children see affects their attitudes toward male and female roles and impacts the value they place on girls and women in society. The Healthy Media for Youth Act will help ensure we are creating a positive media environment for all our children.”
Women Are Poorly Represented In Popular Culture
As an experienced actress, Davis had been watching children's television shows and videos with her young daughter and was alarmed by the misrepresentation of female characters portrayed on screen. Davis even suggests that women have been poorly represented in films for decades.
“When there is a woman working in as a writer or producer in a film, there is a greater chance that the film will include more positive images of women and girls,” Davis was quoted saying. The A League of Their Own actress shared that she has been gradually collecting research in film for the past six years and says that the frequencies of women from G to PG-13 rated films have remained the same for the past two decades.
The Bill Would Provide Grants and Encouragement
The legislation is said to provide grants, support and educate youth empowerment groups about how poorly demonstrated images of women in the media can truly affect youth. The bill would directly promote a healthier and more positive outlook on the equality of women overall.
“There’s a very narrow window that the female characters tend to have to fit -- very beautiful, very thin, usually body types that can’t exist in real life,” Davis, whom is on the Women and Girls Lead advisory board said. “There’s a lot of using the female characters as eye candy and the “other” rather than someone that’s really involved in the script.”
It Could Take a Few More Years to Notice Change
Davis whom has personally been meeting with film producers and casting directors about the matter says she believes that by 2015, when the institute releases its next report, the numbers will improve greatly.
Even former Californian Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Davis’ cause last month.
“At first I didn’t intend to launch an institute about it,” Davis shared. “But I realized that it’s one of those problems where people think that it’s already been dealt with, when in fact it hasn’t.”
Annie Martin - Annie Martin is a freelance writer specializing in songwriting, blogging, articles, music websites and more.
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