Representations of Black Women in Hollywood

This study examines representations of Black women and girls in entertainment media in 2019. Much of the existing research on race and gender in entertainment media analyzes representations of women and Black people as two distinct groups, but far less is known about the intersectional depictions of Black girls and women in Hollywood. It is important to note that the number of Black female characters in film and TV is too small to examine Black women and girls separately, so the analysis is combined throughout this report.¹

The summary below presents four sets of findings: Representations of Black female leads in film; representations of Black girls and women in family films; depictions in family television; and a comparison of film and TV. Our findings are organized into positive findings and negative findings in each section to give the reader a clear sense of how Black female characters are depicted in entertainment media.

Black Female Leads in Family Films

Black girls and women are 6.5% of the US population, but only 3.7% of leads/co-leads in the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade. This figure has improved in recent years.
Only one-in-five (19.0%) of Black leading ladies from the past decade have a dark skin tone.²
Most Black leading ladies (57.1%) from popular films in the past decade are depicted with hairstyles that conform to European standards of beauty as opposed to natural Black hairstyles.

Black Female Characters in Family Films

Positive Film Findings

Black girls and women are 6.5% of the US population, 6.1% of all characters, and 5.7% of leading characters in 2019 family films.
Black female characters and other female characters of color are less likely to be portrayed as working in a service job (a common racialized media stereotype) than white female characters (7.5% and 11.8% compared to 15.2%).
Black women are more likely to be depicted as working in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) occupation than other women of color and white women (14.3% compared to 9.6% and 9.6%, respectively).
Black women are just as likely as white women to be shown as a leader (41.3% and 43.1%).³
Black female characters are far more likely to be shown as “smart” in family films than white female characters or other female characters of color (54.1% compared to 44.2% and 42.6%, respectively).
Among female characters with occupations, Black women (69.1%) are more likely than white women (52.3%) or other women of color (50.7%) to be depicted as hard working.

Negative Film Findings

When it comes to sexualization, Black women (13.5%) and other women of color (14.8%) are more likely to be depicted as partially/fully nude than white women (9.0%).
Other women of color (56.9%) and white women (51.2%) are significantly more likely to be depicted as attractive than Black women (41.4%) in family films.
Black female characters are more likely to be shown as violent than white female characters (29.3% compared to 24.6%) and twice as likely to be violent as other female characters of color (14.8%).
In the top films, white women (27.2%) are more likely to be depicted as being in a romantic relationship than Black women (22.7%) or other women of color (25.9%).
White women (16.9%) are more likely to have at least one sexual partner in films compared with Black women (13.3%) and other women of color (14.8%).

Black Female Characters in Family Television

Positive TV Findings

Black girls and women are 6.5% of the US population, 6.2% of all characters, and 6.4% of leading characters in 2019 family TV.
Black girls and women are more likely to be shown as attractive (48.5%) compared to other women of color (44.6%) or white women (41.6%).
Black women are more likely to be shown in a STEM occupation (5.6%) than other women of color (3.0%) or white women (3.3%).
More Black female characters are shown as leaders than other women of color or white women (40.9% compared with 36.0% and 34.6%, respectively).
Black female characters are far more likely to be shown as “smart” in family television than other female characters of color and white female characters (32.7% compared to 22.2% and 26.4%, respectively).

Negative TV Findings

Black female characters and other female characters of color are twice as likely as white female characters to be shown with a degree of nudity (5.2% and 4.9% compared with 2.5%).
Compared to white female characters, Black female characters and other female characters of color are twice as likely to be shown in revealing clothing (10.7% and 8.7% compared with 4.5%).
Black female characters are more likely than white female characters and other female characters of color to be verbally objectified by other characters in family TV (1.4% compared with 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively).
White female characters are more likely to have an occupation (89.6%) than Black female characters (70.5%) or other female characters of color (58.8%).
Black female characters are twice as likely as white female characters and other female characters of color to be shown in a service industry job (56.3% compared to 26.4% and 20.6%, respectively).
Black women (5.6%) are less likely than white women (8.7%) and other women of color (11.0%) to be shown in a romantic relationship, but more likely to be shown as having at least one sexual partner.

Comparison of Black Female Characters in Family Films and Television

Sexualization and Objectification

Black female characters are twice as likely to be shown wearing revealing clothing in family film than in family TV (20.3% compared with 10.7%).
Black female characters are more than twice as likely to be shown as partially/fully nude in family films than in family TV (13.5% compared with 5.2%). In family films, Black female characters are seven times more likely to be visually objectified with camera angles than in family TV (6.7% compared with 0.9%).
Black female characters are three times more likely to be verbally objectified by other characters in family films than in family TV (5.3% compared with 1.4%).

Work and Leadership

Black women in family films are three times more likely to be shown as not having
an occupation than in family TV (39.6% compared with 10.4%).
Black women in family TV are seven times more likely to be working a service job than Black women in family films (56.3% compared to 7.5%).
Black women in family films are nearly three times more likely to be shown in a STEM profession than Black women in family TV (14.3% compared to 5.6%).

Violence and Criminality

Black female characters in family films are twice as likely to be shown as violent than Black female characters in family TV (29.3% compared with 13.0%).
Family film has three times more criminal Black female characters as family TV (6.7% compared with 2.3%).

Character Traits

Black female characters are more likely to be depicted as funny in family TV than family film (55.8% compared with 30.7%).
A higher percentage of Black female characters are shown as smart in family films compared to family TV (54.1% compared to 32.7%).
Black women are shown as harder working in family films than in family TV (69.1% compared with 43.4%).

Relationships and Sex

Black women are four times more likely to be shown in a romantic relationship in family films than in family TV (22.7% compared with 5.6%).
Black women are twice as likely to have at least one sexual partner in family films than in family TV (13.3% compared with 5.1%).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY