When you come across an article titled, "Disney CEO Figures Theyāve Built Up Enough Goodwill To Do A Real Sexist One," you click on it. Then, you read through the article, livid that a Disney executive would make such outrageous statements. Next, you conduct research with angry eyes, trying to find other sources that also talk about this incredulous interview. But, when you find nothing, you research the site it came from: The Onion.
If, like me, you had never heard of The Onion, you too would have thought the pieces are fact. They're not. The Onion is a news site filled with satirical articles. You can imagine my relief when I discovered this. After all, Disney is one of my favorites, especially now that their films center on independent, powerful leading ladies who have dreams of their own that they can achieve without a man doing it for them. We preach the need for these kinds of role models today, so why would Disney revert to their old "sexist" ways?
I've heard it said that fiction is a reflection of reality. Heck, I've even said it myself that movies are some of the best places to find the ideals and truths we value most: Good versus evil and a life without love is a tragic one.
Strong females who "don't need no man," let me reintroduce you to the Walt Disney Co.
So, when you go to the movies later, say goodbye to male-dominating roles in film, and wave hola to girl power like Katniss, Hermione, and Tris. Step into a theater, and you will see more films with female leads who aren't over-sexualized or used as the male's sidekick as he saves the world.
We like to think we are making progress when it comes to the battle against sexism, but if one of most popular platforms for spreading messages to our nation is not promoting enough positive images, then why are we surprised there is still so much sexism in the world today?
According to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University explained in an article on Variety.com, only "12 percent of protagonists in the top-grossing films of 2014" were female, which is worse than previous years. The study goes on to point out that "females [comprise] . . . 29 percent of major characters and 30 percent of all speaking characters." Even offscreen, this gender imbalance reigns true. Only 2 percent of directors who directed the 250 top-grossing films were female.
And that's only Hollywood.
Move out to the real world, and more numbers show how far our culture hasn't come. The Huffington Post listed 11 examples of sexism in the work place, and the numbers found were staggering. "21 of the S&P 500's CEOs were female." AKA, 4 percent. And, just above 10 percent were CFOs. That's not including the "more than one third of public companies [who have] zero women senior officers." Plus, women are still paid less than men, yet on average work more. Now how does that happen?
But no worries because Disney has strong, independent females teaching young girls that they can accomplish anything they want when they get older.
If something doesn't change, Disney has been lying to them. Am I saying that there is no chance of women climbing up the corporate ladders? No. In fact, there are women at the top;Yahoo CEO and JPMorgan Chase & Co. CFO to name a few. But when they make it to the top, women are more likely to be criticized than men.
Moving onto another example of the struggles of being a woman in the real world, let's think back to the 2008 election. Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin. A presidential candidate and a VP candidate, both women. One was criticized because she was too aggressive and manly for a woman, and the other was too much of an air head. What did these opinions hinge on? Their appearance. Were any of the male candidates questioned because of their role as keeper of the home or their pantsuits hiding their unseemly cankles?
Before you roll your eyes, and write me off as an obnoxious feminist, hear me out. I used to not like the term. Our culture has tainted it, and to be labeled a feminist is to be labeled, loud, aggressive, and "male-o-phobic." Then Hermione Granger herself helped me understand the word a little better. In her speech in front of the United Nations for the HerForShe campaign, Emma Watson said, "fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man hating." She's right; it has. But she went on to explain, "feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities....Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?"
Really, though, why has it? Is wanting equality between genders so extreme? Is desiring equal opportunities in all aspects of life such a difficult issue to tackle?
I ask these questions because I've never been truly involved in the debate, but I love movies and I'm a female. And when the thing I love most sends out the wrong message to the world, I have to fight it. As a culture, Americans are all talk and very little walk. If we want to say we are all equal, men and women, minorities and non-minorities, we need to show it. And it's not enough to make a Disney movie about two sisters whose love for each other saves the day. It's a start, but there is so much more we can do.
