Geena Davis, local leaders advocate for change of women’s roles in media

Geena Davis, local leaders advocate for change of women’s roles in media

Geena Davis says the media’s role in reshaping the image of women in society is simple: “If they see it, they can be it.” The problem is that the media is not doing its part in representing women and men equally, Davis says, and when women are portrayed in television and film they, often are sexually provocative or stereotyped characters. Davis, who has embarked on a mission to change that and offer more hope and empowerment for young women in popular culture, brought her message to a gathering at Lipscomb’s Andrews Institute.  That institute partnered with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Thursday for “A League of Their Own,” an event starring the acclaimed actor and also featuring Deborah Taylor Tate and female local media leaders to discuss the role of women and girls on screen. Davis — who starred in movies like A League of Their Own, Beetlejuice, and Thelma & Louise — founded her institute in 2004 after watching children’s entertainment with her daughter and realizing the lack of female characters present in TV programming and family movies. Davis’ institute, which focuses on research, education and advocacy, conducted the largest body of research on gender prevalence in the media and discovered that only 17 percent of characters in family films are women. Davis noted those few female characters often are portrayed in stereotypical or hyper-sexualized ways. It’s not just popular media.  Davis said women are not fairly represented in most areas of society, noting that the U.S. ranks 90th on the list of countries that have female representation in government. “It’s astounding,” she said. “The fact is that women...