Gender Inequality in Entertainment

Research Paper

By Kay MPublished 7 years ago • 3 min read

There seems to be many hidden gender stereotypes and inequality in our entertainment. Many them are in the things we love to do, like listen to music, read books, watch movies, and look at art. Most people don’t notice that there is any inequality in the things they are entertained by.

In the movies women tend to be the under appreciated. Back when Shakespeare was still alive, female parts in plays were played by men. I think that that affected how women are treated in movies today. There also seems to be a lack of female directors in the film industry. The average rate from male actors to female actors are 2.25 – 1. In 2013 the highest paid woman in the film industry was paid $181 million as opposed to a male paid $465 million. Hollywood is one of the main areas still ruled by men. However, there are movies with rising female characters, like Hunger Games, Charlie's Angels, and Brave. Though women are treated with more inequality, men are treated that way to. Men are treated unequally through stereotyping. Most movies have male characters known to be strong, ferocious, charming, and a player. But, we know that not all men are like that. Hopefully, a movie would be made with men and women characters that are realistic.

You would be surprised that there is also gender inequality in children's books. 5,618 children’s books through 1900 to 2000 were found to be centered on male characters rather than female. Children tend to read into books deeper than we know. They notice their favorite character in their favorite book and try to compare that with themselves and their role in society. In 2013 a research team led by Amy Dewitt noticed that the roles of male and female in books have progressed toward equality. It’s not far until our children will be reading books with equal female and male roles.

Inequality in art is barely noticed by people today, but back in 1985 a group or girls exposed discrimination in all types of art. The girls, called themselves Guerrilla Girls, showed that women were underrepresented in galleries and museums. In 2012, a study found that less than 4% of artists were women and that 75% were nude women. In 2014, the Guerrilla Girls showed that bus companies had more gender equality than art museums. When people are asked to name some artist they name males, but there are female artists too. There are a lot of female artists like PJ Harvey, a painter, singer, sculptor, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist.

Music could be the only one that has the most gender equality, but it still has some inequality. Musicians experience it. 61% of people working in the music industry are men; women are more than likely to have a level four or higher qualification than men. Women are starting to speak out about the gender discrimination they experience. Ariana Grande, during a radio interview, said that if she could change any problem in the world, it would be judgment, sexism, and more. There are a lot of songs that talk about gender stereotypes. Some of the songs are called: "Boy’s Don’t Cry" by The Cure, "I’m Just a Girl" by No Doubt, and "Keep You Head Up" by 2pac.

However, there is a lot of equality being made in our entertainment. Celebrities are being noticed by their skill and personality more than their looks. Also, books are including equality in gender, race, and sexuality. For example, Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. Lastly, more artist are being recognized. It is amazing how our entertainment has less inequality, than it had years ago.