See Jane 2019
An Analysis of Representations in Film and Television
HISTORIC GENDER PARITY FOUND IN CHILDREN’S TELEVISION
Executive Summary
Since 2004, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a project of Mount Saint Mary’s University, has advocated for greater inclusion in entertainment media through cutting-edge research and advocacy. The Institute is moving the needle on intersectional gender representation by working directly within the industry, with a particular focus on children’s entertainment. This report analyzes representations of gender, race, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities in popular entertainment media in 2018. We examine characters in children’s television shows, children’s films, and popular films. Here are our key findings.
GENDER
Children’s Television
- We have seen a dramatic rise in the number of female leads/co-leads in children’s television shows – from 42.0% (2008) to 52.0% (2018). This is an historic finding of gender parity in the most prominent characters in children’s television.
- In 2018, female characters account for 55.3% of screen time and 50.3% of speaking time.
- Female characters are seven times more likely to be shown in revealing clothing than male characters (8.9% compared to 1.2%).
- Female characters are significantly more likely to be depicted as leaders than male characters (45.5% compared to 41.4%).
Children’s Films
- Unlike children’s television, a gender gap in leading/co-leading characters persists in children’s films. In 2018, male characters make up 67.2% of leads, compared to 32.8% female leads in children’s films.
- Female characters account for 36.6% of speaking time and 39.8% of screen time in children’s films.
- Female characters are six times more likely than male characters to be shown in revealing clothing (26.9% compared to 4.5%). Characters in children’s films are shown in revealing clothing three times more often than characters in children’s television.
- Male characters are more likely than female characters to be shown as violent (34.3% compared to 18.6%), and twice as likely to be shown as criminal (20.3% compared to 13.7%) in children’s films.
Popular Films
- Popular films (the top 100 grossing films rated G – R) are better than children’s films when it comes to gender and leading/co-leading characters, but gender parity is elusive. Male characters make up 60.9% of leads, far outpacing female leads (39.1%).
- Female characters account for 36.2% of speaking time and 39.0% of screen time.
- Female characters are six times more likely than male characters to be shown in revealing clothing (27.3% compared to 4.6%). Female characters in the top films are equally likely to be shown in revealing clothing as female characters in children’s films, and three times more likely than female characters in children’s television.
- Female characters in rated-R (30.8%) and rated PG-13 (29.6%) films are twice as likely to be shown in revealing clothing than female characters in rated-PG films (14.5%)
- Male characters are more likely than female characters to be shown as violent (44.0% compared to 24.5%) and criminal (29.9% compared to 17.0%).
- Male characters are more likely to be shown in positions of leadership than female characters (53.6% compared to 46.1%).
RACE
Children’s Television
- People of color make up 38.0% of the U.S. population, but only 26.1% of leading characters.
- Characters of color are shown as more intelligent than white characters (59.6% compared to 43.2%).
Children’s Films
- People of color make up 28.8% of protagonists (leads and co-leads). Since 2011, leads/co-leads of color have steadily increased.
- Characters of color are more likely to be shown as intelligent than white characters (56.0% compared to 44.7%).
Popular Films
- People of color make up 27.9% of the leading/co-leading characters.
- Characters of color are more likely than white characters to be shown in a criminal occupation (15.5% compared to 10.2%).
SEXUALITY
Children’s Television
- LGBTQ+ characters are virtually nonexistent, making up 0.2% of leading characters.
- LGBTQ+ characters are far more likely than heterosexual characters to be verbally sexually objectified (25.0% compared to 1.1%).
- LGBTQ+ characters are also more likely to be shown as criminal than heterosexual characters (50.0% compared to 8.5%).
- In children’s television, LGBTQ+ characters are far more likely to be portrayed as having low intelligence than heterosexual characters (50.0% compared to 6.7%).
Children’s Films
- 95.0% of prominent characters are heterosexual, and this number has not improved in the past decade.
- LGBTQ+ characters are more likely than heterosexual characters to be shown as partially nude (34.6% compared to 10.4%).
- LGBTQ+ characters are shown as more promiscuous than heterosexual characters (11.5% compared to 2.6%).
Popular Films
- 95.6% of prominent characters are heterosexual.
- LGBTQ+ characters are more likely than heterosexual characters to be shown in a state of partial nudity (26.7% compared to 12.4%).
- LGBTQ+ characters are portrayed as more promiscuous than heterosexual characters (13.3% compared to 3.1%).
DISABILITY
Children’s Television
- Less than 1.0% of leading characters have a physical, mental, or communication disability.
Children’s Films
- 8.1% of the most prominent characters are shown with a cognitive or physical disability, the highest percentage of the last decade.
- In children’s films, characters with a disability are more likely than other characters to be rescued (37.3% compared to 22.6%).
- Characters with disabilities are more likely to die in the film than other characters (33.3% compared to 12.8%).
Popular Films
- 6.1% of leading characters are shown with a cognitive or physical disability.
- Characters with a disability are more likely than characters without a disability to be depicted as violent (50.9% compared to 36.4%).
- Characters with disabilities are more likely to be rescued (41.5% compared to 25.9%).