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Have female actresses in the film industry been sexualized? (AP Seminar)

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Mr. secret

AP Seminar

December 2, 2020

Have female actresses in the film industry been sexualized?

Female roles in the film industry have always been sexualized throughout the history of cinema. Women and teenage actresses from the moment they enter the industry know that they will have to deal with the oversexualization of their bodies. With all the advancements we have made in history for women's rights one would think that the superficiality of their characters portrayed in film would be different. It's not. There have been advancements and attempts to make female led films but usually they are not successful or have been directed in a way that makes them shallow and unpolished. This certainly doesn't mean that all female roles nowadays are shallow. There have been improvements but we still have a long way to go and many mistakes to change from the past. There are still many improvements to be made.

The sexualization of women started earlier than one would expect. A prime example of an actress who is not seen beyond her roles was none other than Marilyn Monroe. When the average person thinks about her, they imagine how she was the sex symbol of her time. A famous american actress, singer and model. She was widely considered to be very attractive, is there more to her character? Yes. Do more people know anything about her aside from her reputation as a beautiful woman on the tv screens and her scandals? No. She is not portrayed in any media other than what she is currently known for. Despite her career in acting, Marilyn was the exact opposite of her on screen characters. According to Lily Rothman in her article on Times, Marilyn helped Ella Fitzgerald get an engagement at the all-white Mocambo Nightclub by calling the club and telling them that she'd be there at the front table every night.This was unheard of at the time. There is so much potential to know her differently but sadly Marilyn Manroe was objectified off screen and in her roles and that is how we remember her.

Natalie Portman may have been born in a different era than Marilyn but the experiences she faced when she was younger do reflect the industry that she works in and is a very good example of what it could do to young impressionable actresses. Natalie Portman has a slightly different story but faces the same problems which is the oversexualization of her body and sexual objectification by the audience. Natalie entered the industry very young. She was only thirteen years old when she filmed her first movie "1994's Leon" and realized that she couldn't express herself sexually because men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify her body even to her own discomfort.During a women's march in 2017 she spoke of her experiences as a young actress and the events that marked her. She says 'I know I was sexualized in the ways that I was photographed or portrayed, and that was not my doing,'. The industry chose how they wanted to portray her, and she never got a say in it. During the same march she spoke about how her first fan-mail was a rape fantasy letter written about her by a man. She was thirteen years old. Quickly she changed her behavior. She rejected any roles offered to her with kissing scenes, she would emphasize how serious she was and how "bookish" she was, so that way she could feel more safe in her own body.

These are just a few examples of actresses who have been objectified by not only the industry but by the audience as well. This happens to so many actresses who are in the industry, especially in hollywood. There have been many different studies on gender inequality in films that take into account their pay and what they wear. A new study by USC Annenberg showed specific statistics that illustrated the difference in sexualization between men and women in film, and not only women but also young adolescent girls. The way they are portrayed in film and by the media are unequal to representation to that of men. None of this is new news. The survey found 33.8 percent of female teen characters were seen in sexy clothing, and 28.2 percent were shown with exposed skin in the cleavage, midriff or upper thigh regions. For male teen characters, the numbers were drastically lower, 5.3 percent shown in sexy clothing and 11.2 percent showing skin. And the sexualization of young girls also contributed to men viewing women and girls as "eye candy". Not only did this study show the differences between men and women in sexy clothing but also the percent of speaking characters in popular films such as "Harry Potter", "Transformers" and "The Twilight saga". Historically and currently, there has always been an oversexualization of women in the film industry.

Works Cited

Backlocks, "Marilyn Monroe and Acts of Political Bravery" June 1, 2020. Date accessed: November 29, 2020.

Cinema and Television Arts Elon University, Ian Kunsey. "Representations of Women in Popular Film: A Study of Gender Inequality in 2018" November 2, 2019. Date accessed: Nov 18, 2020.

Daily Mail, . "Natalie Portman says she felt 'unsafe' by being sexualized as a child star and was worried that men would feel 'entitled to discuss and objectify' her body"December 28, 2018. Date accesses: Nov 28, 2020.

Desert News, Sara Israelsen-Hartley. "Ignored or sexualized: How Hollywood is failing women"Nov 22, 2017. Date accessed: Nov 18, 2020.

ost, Amy Lee. "Women Are Underrepresented, Oversexualized In Top Films: Study" Updated: Feb 22, 2012. Date accessed: Nov 18, 2020.

Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg (IDEA),Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Marc Choueiti, & Dr. Katherine Pieper, "Inclusion or Invisibility? Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity in Entertainment"February 22, 2016. Date accessed: Nov 18, 2020.

Medium, Haley James. " The sexualization of Marilyn Monroe: Her Life and Mysterious Death"August 11, 2019. Date accessed: December 6, 2020.

Psychology today, Stuart Fischoff. "The Sexualized Position of American Women in Movies" Apr 29, 2011. Date accessed: Nov 18, 2020.

Time, Lily Rothman, "Marilyn Monroe's Forgotten Radical Politics" June 1, 2016. Date accessed: November 29, 2020.

USC Annenberg, , "USC Annenberg study: Hollywood hooked on sexualizing women and teen girls" November 21, 2011. Date accessed: Nov 18, 2020.