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Children’s media skew gender

Imbalance delivers a damaging message: Girls don’t matter

By Geena Davis

Few people know that my first “acting” role was The Rifleman, from 1960s TV. As little girls, my best friend and I wanted to be brave like the characters on that show, so when we played in her backyard I was often Lucas McCain, and she would be the son, Mark.

We didn’t realize at the time how odd it was that there were few female role models, or how marginalized or simply invisible female characters were, especially in children’s entertainment. Today, gender distortion remains entrenched in movies and TV aimed at young children like mine.

In 2005-06, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication conducted the most comprehensive analysis of children’s movies and TV programming ever done. The research was commissioned by See Jane, a program I established at the non-profit Dads & Daughters to reduce gender imbalance and stereotyping in children’s media.

Analyzing the 101 top-grossing G-rated movies released from 1990 through 2004, USC’s research reveals (.pdf) that there are three male characters for every one female.

Children’s TV does better on gender balance: Shows rated TVY (for children under 7) and TVY7 (for children 7+) have a male/female ratio of roughly 2-1, while TVG (for all ages) is nearly 1-1. It is troubling, though, that the imbalance is greatest in shows for the youngest viewers (.pdf).

Of course, numerical balance isn’t the whole story; character portrayals also matter. In films and TV for children, male characters are half as likely as females to be parents or married, and much more likely to be violent and dumb (.pdf); those disparities are even greater for male characters of color. As for females in G-rated movies, about a third are either entertainers or royalty (compared with the 0.1% of the American women who are entertainers; the USA has no royalty).

Kids learn their value by seeing themselves reflected in the culture. If their reflection is visible and common, they can say, “I must count. I see myself.” But what message are we sending children with so few female characters? Or when male relationships and female accomplishments are devalued?

We’re teaching them that girls and women are less valuable, while options for boys and girls are determined primarily by gender. This message damages girls and boys.

See Jane is working with the industry, and parents, to improve children’s earliest media exposure. Our goal: ensure that children see a balance of active and complex male and female characters. That way, girls and boys will grow up to empathize with and care more about each other’s stories.