
Last year I saw 32 movies at the movie theater. That is not even including the movies I saw on DVD, Netflix, or HBO. This might seem outrageous, but movies are my passion. I have seen so many movies that if you were to name any movie, I have seen it. Because of this passion, my knowledge of movies extends to the film industry in general. Movies have been very influential on me. When I see a movie, even a bad one, it tends to linger in my mind and sticks with me. They have the power to tell a story as a way to escape the harshness of reality and provide life lessons. This makes movies influential to everyone. That is why it is important for movies to be a positive reflection of society because people absorb what they see in films. Colin Stokes, the director of communications for the non-profit Citizen schools, analyzed the impact of the original Star Wars movies had on his son. At its most basic premise, Star Wars is about defeating the villain and getting a reward. In return, this affected Stokes’s son by helping to show what it means to be a man. Stokes’s son, on a subconscious level, was able to identify with characters, allowing him to accept the role of that character as normal; making it more likely he will act and behave like that character. Because of this, movies need to affect the audience in a good way. That is why it is crucial for films to have gender equality. Unfortunately, that is not the case today. In order for there to be complete gender equality in the film industry, the three major areas of the industry, on-screen roles, behind the screen positions and the audience, need to have better female representation. By casting women in more roles that are stronger, hiring more women to work behind the screen, and valuing the female audience, the gender equality in film will improve.


On the surface, the most influential part of a film is the actors and the roles they play. This is where the lack of female representation is most obvious. There are fewer women in leading roles. The Washington Post reported that, “From 2007 to 2014… There was one leading lady for every 2.2 leading men.” (Paquette). Men outnumber women in Hollywood by more than half. This means that there is less work for women in Hollywood. Women have less speaking lines than men when they get casted in a lead role. According to a film analyst, Danielle Paquette, “Women played a mere 30.2 percent of all speaking or named characters in the 700 biggest box office hits from 2007 to 2014”. By having fewer lines, this gives women less work to do and undermines the role. 

Age, also, plays a role in the lack of on screen work for women. There is a pattern of discrimination in Hollywood, which is age and gender. Older women are subject to this discrimination the most creating a double jeopardy of not enough work because of age and gender. Women are considered out of their prime once they hit forty. Women not only lose their chances for leading roles, but for most roles in general. Women are often used as “eye candy”. When women age, they lose this appeal and a newer and younger actress will come along, thus eliminating roles for older women, while older men still get work (Lincoln and Allen 621). Women are most vulnerable to age discrimination in Hollywood. Maggie Gyllenhaal was denied a role because she was thirty-seven at the time and was too old to be a lover of a man who was 55 (Morgan). By limiting the age of actresses, fewer women will be able to find work in Hollywood.

If you think there is a lack of roles for women in general, then imagine the lack of roles there are for women of color. The usual roles they get are limited to historically based dramas, which often mean they play slaves. Yes, historic films are important and it is essential to have the right demographic to play the accurate role, but this should not be the only role that women of color get praised for. Bill Goodykoontz explains that the reason African American actresses get these types of roles as, “African-Americans had few outlets in mainstream Hollywood from the start. This led to the rise of so-called ‘race films.’” Because of the lack of roles for African Americans when film began, women of color were already at a disadvantage leading them to only get certain roles.

Nevertheless, do not be misled though. Asking for more roles for women is not the same as asking for an all-female film. Paul Feig tried to do that with the reboot of Ghostbusters and it failed by not only the backlash from the audience, but from the disappointing $229 million it made. The key to the issue is equality. Ideally, there should be an equal cast of men and women. At the minimum, a movie should pass the Bechdel test. Alison Bechdel developed the Bechdel test in 1985 and it has three simple rules: “1) must have at least two women in it, who 2) talk to each other, about 3) something other than a man” (Garber). It seems simple enough and very reasonable, but surprisingly many films have failed this test. Even films that have plenty of female characters like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II and Oscar winning movies such as Fargo fail this test. 


Getting more roles for females is important, but the role itself has to be good, because gender equality is not just about quantity, but also a matter of quality. A very easy solution that can get movies to pass this test is for characters to be written as gender neutral. Who is to say that a character has to be written as a certain gender? There should be gender blindness. Movies such as Our Brand is Crisis, has done this by having the role written as gender neutral. A movie like Salt was rewritten for a female to play (Mendelson). This way anything a man can do, a woman can do it too, helping to step away from common portrayals of women.

Another common portrayal of women in film is to be overly sexual. For example, there is the expression that “sex sells”. Movies tend to fall into this trope of hypersexualizing the women in the film. Hypersexualization occurs when 

an individual’s value and worth come solely from his or her sexual appeal or potential, one is objectified or regarded as an item for another’s sexual use, an individual is held to a narrow standard that equates attractiveness with sexiness, or sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon an individual (Moloney and Pelehach 120). 

Basically, if a person is used for their attractiveness for a way of sexual gratification, then that is hypersexualization. This is a common issue because in 2014 “Nearly a third [of women in leading roles] wore ‘sexy attire,’ compared to 8 percent of men. Twenty-six percent flashed skin, while nine percent of men did the same.” (Paquette). Women are more likely to wear revealing clothing and act sexy. This is problematic because it contributes to gendered binary constructions and reflects deeply embossed societal inequalities and strongly reinforces male dominated ideals of beauty. Being portrayed this way can be harmful to the people watching the film because it is unrealistic.

Moreover, Women are written as a source of support to men. Usually, the male has a set back in his hero’s journey, and women help them get back on track. When a woman is added to a movie, it is often to bring more humanity to the male character. The reason women bring more humanity is because women outwardly express emotions more. Movies exploit these emotional themes in women by having them be rewards or fill revenge plot lines for the story. Han Solo dedicated himself to a cause beyond self-interest for the first time and got the love of Princess Leia as a reward. The movie Gladiator kills off general Maximus Decimus Meridus’s wife, so he can want revenge on his brother Commodus. People think that wanting revenge or “saving the princess” is about showing love, but it is more of a plot device and to show the manliness of the man. These themes showcase how women are only written to help the male character’s story through their overly emotional support. This limits women roles and creates an unrealistic caricature instead of a character.

Furthermore, women not only lack depth, but also are reduced down to housewives and mothers in films. It has been reported that in the top ten 100 grossing films of 2014, “female characters were more likely than males to be identified only by a personal life-related role such as wife or mother (58% of females vs. 31% of males).” (Cipriani). This statistic shows how women are limited to roles that generalize typical female models of motherhood and wifehood. This is the reason why an actress like Rachel McAdams is considered to be the “girlfriend” role in most of her movies. She is reduced down to playing the role of being the romantic love interest, always taking care of her man. She was the “girlfriend” in Doctor Strange, The Notebook, and Southpaw. 

However, it would be ignorant of me to say that there are no great female characters. There are a few exceptions of women being tough and courageous. Just look at The Bride from Kill Bill, Black Widow from Captain America: The Winter Solider, or Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road. I argue that there are not enough of women characters like these examples. All of these films show that women can be so much more than a sex object, a caricature, or the “girlfriend”. So why can’t there be a female James Bond or more stand-alone female superhero movies?


While on screen representation is important, behind the scenes representation is equally important and often ignored. Close your eyes and take a minute to picture a movie director. Chances are you imagined directors such as James Cameron, Ridley Scott, or Steven Spielberg and not a woman. Part of the reason this happens is because there is a lack of amount and attention on the females working behind the camera. There have been only four women nominated for an Oscar for best director and only one winner. That is a female to male winners ratio of 1 to 88 (O’Neil). If women directors are not even recognized, then people are going to have the same male image of what a director looks like. People cannot recognize or give credit to female directors if there are so few. A study at San Diego State University found that, “only 9% of Hollywood directors in 2008 were women” (Cochrane). This shows the lack of female directors in Hollywood making it is easier to imagine a male director since there are less female directors.

Yet, women have directed movies people love and probably do not know are directed by women such as: American Psycho, Monster, and Wayne’s World. They do not direct as much as men do because women directors are considered to be risky. Men have directed the great majority of high-grossing films, “of the 241 films that had grossed $100m or more in the US over the last 10 years, only seven were directed by women” (Cochrane). Traditionally, Hollywood does not like change because if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it. Any film is a financial risk, and the film industry is based on success and this success comes from the top-grossing movies. Men have typically directed those movies, but that is only because there is a lack of female directors. Movie studios will rarely take a risk. But women are not a big risk. Female directors usually get smaller, indie films that have smaller budgets. Films with smaller budgets usually have smaller box office grosses making it hard for women to direct the top-grossing movies for the year (Cochrane). What is risky is the fact that movie studios will hire inexperienced, young male directors to direct big time blockbusters because they are cheaper. For example, James Gunn was a director that hardly anyone knew before he directed Guardians of the Galaxy. It is just harder for female directors to be given the same chance as James Gunn, because males run Hollywood earning it the nickname “the boys club”. 

This “boys club” preserves the patriarchal system that males lead and make the majority of the decisions. Males are the heads of the movie studios, which means they are the ones picking out directors and finalizing the cast. This is what has created the “boys club” in Hollywood. Not only is this problematic for female directors but for the other people behind the camera. There are even less females working in other divisions like screenwriting, cinematography, and producing. Hiring more female directors can help fix this problem. The director usually picks out who will be working for them, like cinematographer and screenwriter. This can help get more women working behind the scene and get them more recognition. With more women working behind the scene there can be better on screen female representations because, “In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females compromised 33% of major characters. In films with exclusively male directors and writers, females accounted for 28% of major characters.” (Cipriani). Women working behind the scene contribute to better gender equality in the cast. One of the writers for Sicario was female and when she was told to change the lead to a male FBI agent, she refused and Emily Blunt stayed as the lead (Mendelson). This demonstrates why there is a need for more females to work behind the scene and this would help provide another step towards gender equality on film.

Women directors and writers are not the only ones that should be able to direct or write female characters. It is important for male directors and writers to be able to showcase female characters correctly. It cannot just be women showcasing women, just like it cannot be men showcasing men. Males working behind the scene have to learn how to give better female representation in movies. Though it might be harder for them to do this because they are of not the same gender, it can be done. Just look at Francis Lawrence and how he was able to direct the female protagonist of Katniss in the Hunger Games franchise. She is more than a strong female character but rather a complex character. Katniss is portrayed as tough, resourceful, and determined. Equal representation behind the scene is important, so that the audience can see the equal effort. The audience’s views on women are reflected through the choices made behind the camera, and what is shown in the movie.


Females make up 50% of the audience. “Women purchase half the movie tickets in the nation” (Silverstein). That is the audience that movie studios should want to target for their movies. Yet, movie studios market their films towards young males. Movie studios should instead focus on the female audience and recognize them as equal to males in order to try to appeal to a wider audience. There is more money to be earned if a movie can get both males and females to the theater. Women are a good source of power to help boost a movie at the box office. Movies such as: Frozen and Bridesmaids have benefited from the female audience spending money to see these movies. This is because women tend to go see movies in groups and is less likely to illegally download a movie (Barnes). Therefore males are not as reliable anymore. As the president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros, Dan Fellman, puts it, “young men are the most likely to be lured by alternative activities like video games, sports and YouTube comedy clips. Research indicates that teenage boys in particular do not want to be told when and where to consume entertainment” (Barnes). Young men are not into going to watch a movie at the movie theater as much as women are. Movies need to stop favoring young men and start recognizing the female audience if they want to make the most money.

 Male marketing for movies lean towards genre films like action and horror films. Typically, this genre has the VFX work that impresses men to want to check the movie out. These genre films should not rely only on this tactic that caters to males. By marketing a movie this way, it makes the film seem less female friendly and discourages the female audience, by having overtly masculine themes in the trailers of these genre films. The female audience needs to be recognized for these films because there are many female fans of this genre and they should not feel left out. Personally, I love a good action or horror movie, but I feel like because there is an expectation for women to like more feminine movies, women do not usually express there other interests. Part of the reason The Avengers did so well is because, “women bought 40 percent of tickets on its opening weekend” (Silverstein). Women support other more male centric genres like superhero movies. Genre films should not just be for one gender. Movie studios need to learn this because they can be making a lot more money. If they know that so many women like superheroes, then they should have played up Black Widow in the marketing and merchandising of The Avengers or added another female superhero to the film.

There is this new trend to add the word “female” to a genre in order to get women to go see a movie. Instead of just “comedy”, it is now a “female comedy”. By having this, it is limiting the audience because hardly any males will want to see a movie that is labeled as “female comedy”, which can lead to that movie doing poorer at the box office. Women can be as funny as men, so why do they need their own special genre just for girls. That is not gender equality to separate the genre movies into female and male movies. The female audience will go see a generic comedy; it does not have to be labeled as female for them to go see it. Females will go see these genre films because women are interested in other things besides chick flicks and romantic comedies. Chick flicks and typical female genre movies are not even good for women because they are derogatory because, “these films prove that, just because movies showcase women stars and target female audiences, doesn’t mean they do anything to empower actresses or viewers.” (Thompson). Women are represented unrealistic in these types of movies. The female viewer wants something more than what typical female genre films are giving, so it is important not to have separate “female” genres to try to lure in more women.

The goal of any movie is to have a four-quadrant appeal. A movie should appeal to the young and old, to the male and female viewers, and this makes up the four-quadrants (Barnes). In this way, the film is marketed to each gender and age group equally and will make for a wider audience. The audience has more power than people think. Movie studios listen to money. So, one should go see a movie that has good representation of females. Whenever you purchase a movie ticket, the money you pay supports the movie you went to see. If a movie does well at the box office, then more than likely, the studio will make another one like it with minor changes. If a movie flops at the box office, then the movie studio will try to course correct and fix the mistake. Support films that are worth supporting.


Movies are a two way street for society. Movies are a reflection of society, and society is influenced by movies. This makes movies very powerful. If movies are going to have bad representation of females, then imagine what the effects a movie like that can have on a viewer. When I was a young girl, I remember sneaking out of my room, after bedtime, to watch whatever my dad was watching on the staircase. He loved to watch old movies and I remember he had on Aliens. I was completely mesmerized by Ripley. She was my hero. To see a girl save the day was awe-inspiring. Seeing her in that metal machine and yell out “Get away from her you bitch!” and fight the alien queen made me so happy. She inspired me so much that I was her for Halloween that year. Years later, when I found out that Ripley was originally supposed to be a male, it made me really sad. What if the character had been a male? Would I have loved and appreciated Aliens if Ripley was a man? That is why we need the Ellen Ripley’s, the Sarah Connor’s, and the Furiosa’s in movies. Movies are influential and hold so much power on how people view the world and society. Films should reflect our society, which is made up of both men and women. Movies have the power to show gender equality. Movies have three chances of doing it: on screen, behind the scene, and through the audience. In general, all that is required is equal opportunity for women, which will lead to equal representation and finally gender equality. We must keep fighting because we must not accept anything less than gender equality at all levels.
