Women in film and television: empowered or objectified?

In the 1950s, conservative notions about a woman's role in society led actresses to be typecast as stay-at-home moms like June Cleaver and Olivia Walton. These on-screen moms typified the ideal woman, and homemaker, who cooked, cleaned, laundered, cared for her children, and obeyed her husband. Television has changed dramatically since the 50's, but not necessarily in a way that is favorable to women. Despite efforts by organizations like Women, Action & the Media (WAM) to promote gender equity in media access, women are increasingly portrayed as sex icons, and are less likely to be cast in serious roles. While women are no longer restricted to playing mommy roles, they are faced with a new challenge: can they be sexy?

Before sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw, Americans loved another journalist: Mary Richards of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Both characters depict single women in big cities, but stand "on very different ends of the chastity scale." In the 1970s, concurrent with the second wave of feminism, Hollywood debuted Mary as its first unmarried career woman in her thirties, determined to "make it on her own." Bonnie Dow asserts that Mary Tyler Moore was undoubtedly inspired by the women's liberation movement, and she was an intended departure from sexist portrayals of women on TV. Over its seven-year run, the series topped the charts, dealing with issues of sexism in the workplace, equal pay for women and men, contraception, and divorce. Mary Richards kept it classy and professional- she kept her clothes on, and kept her pillow talk private. So, how did  Mary Tyler Moore become Sex and the City? 

Katherine Lehman contends that the producers of Mary Tyler Moore needed Mary Richards to appeal to a broad audience. Given that single and sexual women threatened traditional American values, the writers developed a character that could broach controversial issues, without offending viewers. Id. But for some, Mary Tyler Moore played it too safe, offering viewers nothing more that a "glorified go-fer in a television news room."  

While Mary Richards served as a "gentle role model... [to] the shaky career woman" in the 1970's, Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garret sexualized traditionally male police work on Charlie's Angels. Dubbed, "the women who transformed television," Farah Fawcett (Jill), Jaclyn Smith (Kelly), and Kate Jackson (Sabrina) played a trio of police academy graduates, working as private investigators, combating crime with feathered hair and skimpy outfits. Charlie's Angels defied the rules of sexual etiquette and paved the way for a new typecast: oversexed harlot. But was this really progress?

Although the angels were strong women-- able to physically defend themselves against burly criminals-- they did so under the direction of their mystery boss, Charlie. The mere fact that the girls called themselves Charlie's angels, and were willing to service a man they had never met, reinforced male dominance and superiority-- not to mention the idea that women should put faith in men without asking any questions. Also distressing is Farrah Fawcett's declaration that when the show got to be number one, she decided it could only be because none of the girls wore a bra.  In fact, Charlie's Angels engendered a new industry acronym: T&A TV, otherwise, tits and ass TV. 

Debuting in 1998, Sex and the City took T&A TV to a new level.  Featuring four professional women and their adventures in sex and relationships, many women exalt the show as the "feminist Bible on screen." Given the series' recurring theme of no-strings-attached sexual rendezvous, nudity is a central element of the show. In fact, many scenes feature Kim Catrall (Samantha) completely nude and in the act of coitus. But how does sex make this show feminist? Have women failed to realize that these independent Upper Manhattan women are obsessed with men and the search for love? Who can forget that Miranda reconciled with her cheating husband, or that Charlotte gave up a lucrative career for kids? Didn't both Samantha and Carrie leave New York and abandon their lives to follow their boyfriends? 

The Women's Media Center 2012 report offers dismal statistics on the status of women in the media today. The report highlights the underrepresentation of women who determine the content of news, literature, television and film entertainment, as well as the negative portrayal of women in film and television. Moreover, in the 100 top-grossing films of 2007, 2008, and 2009, women represented only one-third of speaking characters over all three years. In many of these roles, women were hyper-sexualized, and more likely than males to wear sexy clothing and be depicted partially nude. In 2009 25.8 percent of females versus 4.7 percent of males in these films were shown in sexy attire, and 23.6 percent of females versus 7.4 percent of males were shown partially nude.

This piece is not a rant against sex, sexuality, or a woman's right to make them her own. Instead, it is an attempt to highlight another way that sexism is disguised as feminism. I say, if a woman has the nerve to bare it for the cameras, more power to her. However, the popularity and success of  actresses and their film and television characters should not depend on T&A.