And That's A Wrap!

So, I’ve presented the facts and numbers of the very few women working behind the scenes in Hollywood, but in this post I will address the ultimate question, “Why does it matter?”

“What’s the point of this girl’s constant complaining?”

Well my friends, let me tell you.

Some may think that having an equal amount of women and men making creative decision about content isn’t important but I argue that it is extremely important. 

As a writer or content creator you reflect the reality you know and write what you know therefore you are likely to create characters similar to yourself.

This means that with a majority of male writers no wonder there’s way more males on-screen. They’re attracted to characters that are like them.

When women are behind camera there are far more female speaking characters. 

In movies directed by women, 47.7% of the characters were female; in movies directed by men, fewer than a third of the characters were female. When one or more of the screenwriters was female, 40% of characters were female; when all the screenwriters were male, 29.8% of the characters were female.

That’s a significant increase. 

Not portraying women on screen sends the message that females are less important than males.

Not only does having females work behind the camera increase the number of females on screen but it also alters the type of content that we see women in.

For example, women were far more likely than men to wear sexy clothing in movies, such as swimwear and unbuttoned shirts (25.8% versus 4.7%), to expose skin (23% versus 7.4%) and to be described by another character as attractive (10.9% versus 2.5%).

This type of provocative clothing devalues women and perpetuates the idea that a woman’s worth is equal to her beauty and physical appearance. Her intelligence is devalued and she is a mere object of the male gaze.

Women behind the cameras helps diminish this view of women and utilizes other important facets to convey her importance.

The types of jobs a female has is also affected by women behind the scenes. Women in film and television are often seen in traditional female occupations or as home-makers but when women are in charge these occupations change to roles that are less stereotypical. 

So ladies and gentleman, I give you the reason it is important to have diverse voices behind the camera.

These gender depictions influence young children who will appropriate these images and shape their worldview. 

In order not to perpetuate these gender stereotypes and promote gender equality we must create images that send positive depictions of men and women in the media.