News Archive

January 18, 2010

With few exceptions, girls on film are still eye candy, study shows

Is Tinker Bell too sexy? Is she prone to fits of jealousy? Is the little pixie unassertive? A recent study shows that the film industry is still stuck on portraying females as eye candy and that women continue to be depicted in negative images and stereotypes. The study, commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, also found that women are vastly underrepresented in films. Read More…

January 15, 2010

UNIFEM partners with Geena Davis

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) welcomes Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis as a partner in the effort to change the way media represents women and girls, to encourage media to present and investigate issues of grave importance to women and to use a “gender” lens when reporting. As the founder of the non-profit Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDIGM) and its programming arm, See Jane, Ms. Davis brings her media expertise to advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

November 16, 2009

Geena Davis Head to Detroit on Behalf of the White House Project

Geena Davis is one of the best loved actresses, but it seems its time to spend more time being a full-time mother to her three children. The star has kept her acting work to a minimum. She has devoted herself to the children and Reza Jarrahy her husband of nine years. Davis may have put her acting on the back burner; however she is continuing her political activism. Read More…

November 10, 2009

Nonprofit helps women gain power

Saunteel Jenkins was a political long shot — an insider’s pick who had never been a TV star or Motown singer — when she announced her intention to run for Detroit City Council. But in May, she took her three-minute stump speech to a one-day boot camp for women interested in politics and, at the end of the day, she walked out with a new speech and a sense of confidence that wore well on the long campaign trail. Next week, she and actress Geena Davis will meet at the Motown Mansion, at a fundraiser for a nonprofit group that sponsored the camp that helped polish Jenkins’ political skills. Read More…

November 04, 2009

The Women’s Foundation of California honors Geena Davis

The Women’s Foundation of California is honoring Actor and Founder of See Jane Geena Davis at its 30th anniversary luncheon on Friday, November 13 at the Fairmont San Francisco. The Foundation has been raising critical funding for women and girls since 1979. Honorary Chair First Lady of San Francisco Jennifer Siebel Newsom and 500 of the Bay Area’s most influential business, nonprofit and government leaders will gather to celebrate the Foundation. Read More…

November 03, 2009

Add Women, Change Michigan event features Geena Davis

Actress Geena Davis and founder Marie Wilson will be featured guests at “Add Women, Change Michigan,” an event to support The White House Project held Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at The Motown Mansion, 918 West Boston Blvd. in Detroit. Academy Award-winner Geena Davis continues to be one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. Read More…

February 07, 2008

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Releases New Findings: Males Outnumber Females Almost 3 to 1 in Films

Examining 15,000 individual speaking characters across G-, PG-, PG-13, and R-rated films, research by Dr. Stacy Smith of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication in association with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media indicates that males outnumber females roughly 3 (2.71) to 1 on the silver screen. Dr. Smith and her team also examined 4000 female film characters and found that two types of females often frequent film: the traditional and the hypersexual. Read More…

January 29, 2008

ABC News: Geena Davis Tackles Gender Issues

What’s the Buzz Interview: The award-winning actress takes on the portrayal of women in the media and explains her motivation for founding the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Watch the video…

January 25, 2008

Geena Davis Talks Gender in the Media

Whether intentionally or not, actress Geena Davis has taken on many a female character with strong ideas and values. Her most iconic roles in recent years have included the vulnerable-turned-resolute Thelma Dickinson in Thelma & Louise, the independent, motherly figure Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own, the first American woman to become the “Commander in Chief” and the role that won her an Academy Award, the complicated dog trainer Muriel Pritchett, a woman who isn’t shy when it comes to what she wears or getting what she wants, in The Accidental Tourist. Read More…

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