Women are underrepresented in key movie positions, USC study finds

The Los Angeles Times reports on a study by USC's Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative, led by faculty fellow Stacy L. Smith. The study found that women are still underrepresented in key movie positions, with women filling less than a third of all speaking roles across six years of film content…….

Smith in Newswise – Sexy Socialization

"These findings are troubling given that repeated exposure to thin and sexy characters may contribute to negative effects in some female viewers," Faculty Fellow Stacy Smith told Newswise. Smith studied society's sexualization of teenaged girls in film and in the corporate environment of Hollywood. "Such portrayals solidify patterns of appearance-based discrimination in the entertainment industry."……

Smith on Annenberg Radio News – Women in media

Faculty Fellow Stacy L. Smith was interviewed on USC's own Annenberg Radio News. In conjunction with International Women's Day, Smith was interviewed about the role of women in the media, and how the lack of females behind the lens in Hollywood is having negative effects on young women growing in America today…….

Smith in FishbowlLA – “Gender roles”

Stacy L. Smith, Faculty Fellow, presented her research on "Gender in Media" at the Skirball Cultural Center in December. Smith's research examined the female role models that appear in family films and the frequency in which female characters appear in these movies. According to the Geena Davis Institute, 400 of the top grossing films released between 1990 and 2006 were analyzed. At that time, the ratio of male-to-female characters was determined to be 2.71-to-one. The article can be found on FishbowlLA…….

Women in Film making a difference

Stacy Smith, Faculty Fellow was interviewed for an article in The Hollywood Reporter about the presence of female filmmakers and writers in Hollywood, and the impact they are having on the industry…….