Previous research with the same themes of the portrayal of women in movies focuses on top-grossing films. For this research, the focus is Academy Award winning films as I wanted to look further into how the movie industry rewards movies that fit into their “status-quo.” This project’s relevant literature focuses on the historical events that changed how women are portrayed in films, specifically regarding their careers and how that changes their gender role.
Domenico, Desirae M, and Karen H. Jones. 2006. “Career Aspiration of Women in the 20th Century.” Journal of Career and Technical Education 22(2);1-7.
After World War II, this article looks into how women became more involved in the workforce, especially in jobs previously considered for men. Women who aspired to have careers were deemed neglectful mothers and not taken seriously by their coworkers and bosses. Women who were not interested in having a family felt pressure and guilt from society for wanting to pressure a career rather than have children, as society expected. In 1890 less than 3% of married women worked outside the home; by 1900, 25% of all women participated in the labor force. By1910, almost 7.5 million women worked outside the house, and these numbers were stable until the beginning of WWII. The start of WWII sparked a sharp increase in labor participants among women, specifically in skilled jobs and union jobs, which were previously only available to men. By the mid-1900s, approximately 46% of the American workforce was female. Barriers women faced while trying to enter the workforce include sex-typing occupations and sex discrimination in the workplace. Another interesting point is that young girls will model after their mothers, meaning if their mothers are in the workforce, daughters will have more aspiration to join the workforce than daughters who have mothers who do not work. During the twentieth century, women’s career aspirations have steadily increased (which mimics the way we see career women in films over time).
Ezzedeen, Souha R. 2014. “Portrayals of Career Women in Hollywood Films: implications for the glass ceiling’s persistence.” Gender in Management: An International Journal 30(3);239 264.
This article aims to explore the negative stereotypes depicted in Hollywood films of career women. It looks into stereotype threats and how these portrayals could undermine women’s career aspirations and contribute to the glass ceiling’s persistence. The author explores 165 career women presented by 137 films, focusing on the negative stereotypes associated with these characters. The results show that women were portrayed in negative and stereotype threatening ways. The women in the films could not balance work, and a family was seen as promiscuous and isolated and failed at intimacy. Although this is a small sample for the number of movies available, many films are still depicting women in a negative light.
Goldin, Claudia, and Lawrence F. Katz. 2002. “The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women’s Career and Marriage Decisions.” Journal of Political Economy 110(4); 73 770.
After 1970 the percentage of U.S. women college graduates entering the professional field increased substantially; around the same time, the age of women getting married began to rise. This article looks into how these two phenomena can influence the increased spread and availability of the birth control pill. The FDA first approved the pill in 1960, but it wasn’t until the late 1960s when states changed their laws, which reduced the age at which you could obtain the pill. Before this, married women were the only ones on the pill, but with the age lowering, recent college grads could get on the pill and focus on a career. The social pressure to make the pill more readily available changed the way women were able to decide their fate. By not having to worry about getting pregnant, women could have a career they were not able to before because of the lack of longevity in the workforce.
Lincoln, Anne E, and Michael Patrick Allen. 2004. “Double Jeopardy in Hollywood: Age and Gender in the Careers of films Actors, 1926-1999.” Sociological Forum 19(4); 611-631.
This article looks into the idea of “double jeopardy,” referring to older actresses. Women in the first place have a hard time being cast in movies due to the specific role that is expected by the writer and director; older women have an even hard time because the roles they could play tend to be reserved for actresses that are well known. The theory proposed argues that age has a different effect on male and female star actors’ careers. The results show that as women get older, they receive few film roles, and in general, women receive fewer parts than men. Women are more prone to this double jeopardy than men are and have difficulties getting roles when they are older. The author suggested that this could be due to film producers acting with their beliefs of what film audiences want to see. The importance placed on women’s physical appearance in cinema is a factor in this as well; when women get older and are not considered “beautiful” by an audience standard, they are less likely to be cast.
McQuillan, Julia, Arthur L. Greil, Karina M. Sheffler, and Veronica Tichenor. 2008. “The Importance of Motherhood Among Women in the Contemporary United States.” Gender & Society 22(4);477-496.
This article looks into the importance of motherhood to women aged 25-45 in the U.S. between September 2004 and December 2005. It looks into how education, work success, and leisure all play a role in the importance of motherhood. They find that the educational level is not associated with motherhood’s importance, and valuing work success is positively associated with valuing motherhood among mothers. Because motherhood has been so firmly linked with femininity, many high-achieving women may see successful mothering as a way to demonstrate that they are still appropriately feminine.
Neville, Conor, and Phyllis Anastasio. 2019. “Fewer, Younger, but Increasingly Powerful: How Portrayals of Women, Age, and Power have Changed from 2002 to 2016 in the 50 Top-Grossing U.S. Films.” Sex Roles 80(7-8):503-514
Through content analysis of the 88 top-grossing Hollywood films of 2002, the authors found evidence to support gender and age inequality. Women ages 40 and up are less visible, whereas men remain a big part of these movies well into their 50s. It was also found that women played fewer roles in positions of occupational power and were rarely shown in leadership positions. The study aimed to discover if these roles have changed from 2002 to 2016 by analyzing the top 50 grossing movies in 2016. They found that women were still underrepresented (they made up 32.8% of all characters), but women did make huge strides when it came to roles where women held occupational power. Overall, they found that from 2002 to 2016, there were positive changes in women’s presence and portrayal, having them occupying more generous proportions of leadership roles and attaining occupational goals.
Powers, Stephen P., David J. Rothman, and Stanley Rothman. 1993. “Transformation of Gender Roles in Hollywood Movies: 1946-1990.” Political Communication 10(3):259-283.
The article looks into how women’s roles in movies have changed and shifted from just a character-focused on romance to more complex characters who have real-life struggles to overcome. Using systematic content analysis of film from 1940-1989 and look into the shift in gender roles and show how these roles reflect a “new Hollywood” that aims to replace the old stereotypes surrounding women. From 1946-1965 it was the norm that films were male-dominated, and when women characters appeared, they fit into a particular role (romantic partner); in this span of years, leading female characters only made up 25% of all characters in films (in this specific sample). From 1966-1989 the shift began to occur where women’s representation was modified (compared to today’s society, these changed seen very little). By analyzing alterations in the movie industry, the authors argue that it can help us understand larger changed in society. The trends found in this study show that the traditional representation of women (greater civility than men, maternal instinct, devotion to others) has declined as male characters have become more vicious, greedy, and villainous. They argue, though, that developments in society have had a significant impact on changing gender roles. The findings suggest that Hollywood does not reflect these changes as much as it exaggerates them. The liberal ideas of sexual relations have made their way into the American public and the entertainment industry.
