Shutterstock
I am going into the film and television industry and although I love what I am studying, there are certainly challenges that come along with being a woman in this field. In a world where three-quarters of producers, 90% of writers, and 92% of directors of top films are men, women are certainly underrepresented across these platforms–and often misrepresented.
Though some movies and shows do have fantastic female characters, there are still a plethora of films and episodes that portray women in an extremely stereotypical and negative light. Here are the 10 worst TV and movie clichés that I have come across in the many hours of screen time I have watched,
1. Their lives magically get better after a makeover.
There are so many movies where a woman gets a “makeover”–maybe straightens her hair, or takes off her glasses, or puts on a little eyeliner–and suddenly goes from ugly to hot. First of all, why did she need to change her look in the first place if she was comfortable before? Second of all, why does everything else in her life start to work out as soon as she became more conventionally attractive?
I can go to a salon and get my hair done and my nails done, but my problems don’t just fizzle and hardly anyone even notices I look different. This is false advertising. Let’s stop doing this.
2. They are shown as “neurotic” or “crazy.”
Film and television plots contain so many “crazy ex-girlfriends,” women who are overly emotional to the point of being ridiculous, and women who are otherwise neurotic about something (ex. workaholics). Newsflash: we actually aren’t crazy in real life! We’re very reasonable if you sit down and talk to us and use logic. So let’s make our female film characters reflect that.
3. Many are used as sex objects or plot devices instead of being their own people.
It’s just not fair that so many women are objectified on screen instead of having fully fleshed-out personalities, motives, and storylines. In so many movies and shows, women are simply there for the convenience of men having a love interest or a sexual partner and their characters aren’t given the same consideration as their male counterparts.
4. In fact, they talk about men constantly–way more than in real life.
The Bechdel test first appeared in a comic strip by Alison Bechdel in 1985 and is a very telling tool when analyzing the portrayal of women in fiction. To pass the test, a movie only has to fulfill three simple requirements: 1) There must be two named female characters; 2) They must talk to each other; 3) Their conversation must not be about a man.
This doesn’t sound super difficult to fulfill, does it? In real life, women get together all the time and talk about their jobs, their friends, their hobbies, and many other topics that do not involve men. So why do only 57.8% of movies pass this test, with more than 10% not even meeting one of the criteria? It’s a disservice to women.
Want to see if your favorite movie passes? You can check here.
5. When are we going to accept that not all blondes are dumb?
If there’s a beautiful blonde girl in a scary movie, she’s going to get killed off pretty quickly from doing something completely idiotic. This trope is especially bad in horror movies, but it pops up across many genres. Think about Karen in Mean Girls, which otherwise portrays women as intelligent (and passes the Bechdel test); she’s a complete stereotype of the “dumb blonde.”
6. Women are portrayed as “cold.”
If they aren’t super interested in men, women are often shown to be cold or uncaring. Um, we care about things… Just maybe not you. Think about it.
7. They need to be “saved” by strong males.
This is almost every classic Disney princess movie. We grew up with this stuff, everyone. While I certainly enjoy Cinderella or Snow White as much as the next person, it’s not the best example to set for young girls because we shouldn’t need men to “save” us. We can take care of ourselves just fine.
8. And when a woman is strong, she needs to prove her femininity.
It’s sad but true. Women who actually appear to be strong and independent suffer in the media. There are so many instances of women “dumbing themselves down” in movies in order to capture male attention, and women who are upfront about their intelligence often have a hard time finding a partner or even being taken seriously. Why?
9. Women are enemies with each other.
Giphy
It comes up in movies, but it’s especially bad in reality TV shows. Yes, they make for an entertaining hour or two, but women are not the jealous, psychopathic, screaming creatures that you see on television. It’s important that for every “dramatic” hour-long episode you watch, there are literally hundreds of hours of the same women getting along beautifully and living normal lives. Those parts are omitted because they don’t make for fascinating TV, but they happened!
10. They can never have it all.
Women in TV and movies can have the happy family or they’re successful in their career, but can’t have both. That is completely false. I know tons of women in real life who have awesome jobs and wonderful families and since they’re so intelligent and driven, they are pros at maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
Here’s to hoping that Hollywood does a better job of portraying women going forward.
