ARTICLES: Don’t Sexualize Girls in the Media, Say Experts

ATLANTA—Media images sexualizing and dehumanizing girls aren't just bad for girls but bad for business, said leading female business, NGO, and media leaders at the Womenetics Global Leadership Initiative Oct. 4 in Atlanta.

"Changing cultural perceptions of female worth and roles is necessary to bolster the number of women who lead," stated Elisabeth Marchant, president and CEO of Womenetics, in a press release. "This initiative has a proven benefit to corporations and to the next generation of women who will launch careers and provide breakthrough innovations."

Dr. Jean Kilbourne, an early proponent of media literacy, said images that sexualize girls and use female bodies to sell products damage society, are ubiquitous, and should be challenged.

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ARTICLES: Girls on film

Children's entertainment features too few female characters, even in bit parts, sending the wrong message to youngsters of both genders.

WHEN my niece was three years old her favourite film was Jurassic Park. Of course, she should never have been allowed to see that film at her tender age, but let's leave that conversation and its associated allegations of irresponsible babysitting aunties out of it. The point is, she saw the film and was immediately enthralled. She would beg to watch it and then sit silent and wide-eyed for two hours, before begging to watch it over again as soon as the credits began to roll. We adults tried to break her addiction with age-appropriate dinosaur books and cartoons, but she wasn't interested. It had to be Jurassic Park.

She was almost five before she revealed what it was she loved about the movie: ''Lex. She's a little girl, but she climbed the fence and fixed the computer and saved everyone.'' It suddenly made perfect sense. Books and films for kids her age were either adventure stories about boys or princess stories about girls. My niece enjoyed both of these genres, but in Jurassic Park she found what so many children crave: a character she could both look up to and imagine becoming.

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NEWS: 'Dora the Explorer' turns 10 as model for pre-K girls

'Dora the Explorer' turns 10 as model for pre-K girls

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

Dora the Explorer marks her 10th anniversary Sunday, but parents, teachers and pediatricians are the ones celebrating.

At a time when children's entertainment is dominated by princesses and fashion dolls, educators say Dora— which remains the top-rated preschool program on TV — has provided a rare, positive female role model for girls.

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INTERVIEWS: Geena Davis touts gender equality in kids media

Q: How did the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media come into being?

A: That happened as a result of watching kids' entertainment with my then-2-year-old daughter; she's 8 now. I started to watch G-rated videos and TV shows and I was really stunned to see what I perceived to be a big gender disparity.

I was thinking, why on earth in the 21st century are we not showing kids sharing the sandbox equally?

When I mentioned it to people in the industry, the typical reaction was, "I don't think that's true; they've fixed that." I realized to have any impact, I would need data.

(We did) the largest research study ever done on G-rated films and kids' television programs. The results were what I had perceived: There were far more male characters than female; the male characters were doing all the interesting things and having the adventures. The female characters were stereotyped, often serving as eye candy.

Since then we've brought that research to the studios and networks that are creating this content. We work from the inside in a collegial way to encourage improvement.

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OPPORTUNITIES: Online discussion on Gender Equality, Education and Training

UNESCO would like to invite you to participate in an online discussion on Gender Equality, Education and Training from 10 January to 7 February 2010.

The discussion organized by UNESCO is part of a series of United Nations online discussions dedicated to the fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and to the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000): it is hosted by WomenWatch. Education and Training is identified as Strategic Objective B in the Beijing Platform for Action.

Over four weeks, you will be able to take part in the lively discussions and debates on this critical area of concern, and to read new research from leading gender and education specialists from across the globe. Each week will focus on a specific theme that will cover a wide range of topics, such as the role of Education for All (EFA) initiatives on progress towards the Beijing strategic objectives, responses to gender-based violence in schools, and the impact of current crises on education and gender equality initiatives.

Week 1 (10 -16 Jan) - Disconnects: missed opportunities for progress and lessons learned

Week 2 (17-23 Jan) - Silences and hidden challenges

Week 3 (24 - 30 Jan) - Crises: challenges and new opportunities

Week 4 (31 Jan - 7 Feb) - Summary of discussions: Key messages

All participants are warmly encouraged to share perspectives, experiences, research and photos related to this key issue for gender equality. Registration is open to all: so please come and take part in the discussion on how to make gender equality in education and training a reality!

For more information, please visit www.unesco.org/genderequality/beijing15

To register; email the Moderator (bsp.wge@unesco.org)

Further links:

UNICEF VOY

NEWS / GENDER ISSUES: The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Releases New Findings: Males Outnumber Females Almost 3 to 1 in Films

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Releases New Findings: Males Outnumber Females Almost 3 to 1 in Films

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Examining 15,000 individual speaking characters across G-, PG-, PG-13, and R-rated films, research by Dr. Stacy Smith of USC's Annenberg School for Communication in association with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media indicates that males outnumber females roughly 3 (2.71) to 1 on the silver screen.

Dr. Smith and her team also examined 4000 female film characters and found that two types of females often frequent film: the traditional and the hypersexual. For example, females are over five times as likely as males to be shown in alluring apparel and are roughly three times as likely as males (10.6% vs. 3.4%) to be shown with an unrealistically "ideal" body.

Dr. Smith's research also reveals problematic portrayals in television aimed at children. Females in kids' fare are almost four times as likely as males to be shown in sexy attire (20.7% vs. 5.4%) and nearly twice as likely as males to be shown with a small waist line (25.6% vs. 14.4%). Animated females in TV for kids are more likely to be shown in sexually revealing attire than are live action females (24.5% vs. 17.4%). Also, females in animated TV stories for children are more likely to have small waists (36.9% vs. 6.9%) and have an unrealistic body shape (22.7% vs. 1.2%) than are females in live action TV stories for children. Though, females are not the only ones hypersexualized in TV content for children. Animated males are more likely than live action males to have a large chest (15.4% vs. 4.9%), small waist (18.4% vs. 4.3%), and an unrealistically muscularized physique (12.5% vs. .5%).

This research was announced at a four-day international conference on gender and children in media at the University of Southern California and hosted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20080207/DC1371207022008-1.html

WEBSITE:
http://www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org/