[19eightyfour]

Sexism against women is real. Just look at movies. Audiences for blockbuster Hollywood movies are almost completely mixed. But how many leads and stars are male versus female?

And this is movies. This is a fictional world. This is where you can rewrite the rules and depict the world as you would like to show it. But Hollywood still shows more men in lead roles than women.

So the representation of women on screen is not equal to the representation of women in real life. But it could be. And it's not even equal to an ideal representation of women based on equality. But it could be. Because it's a movie you can make it however you want to make it.

[johnfn]

My guess to an explanation of this phenomenon would be that guys don't really watch many movies with women leads, but the inverse is not true.

Is this true?

[19eightyfour]

It might be. But the sexism is economically based by consumer choices. But I just feel, " sorry that's not good enough, Hollywood, Can not you be doing something better?" I mean I they spend lots of money to promote particular narratives, values and ideas. Hollywood is based on the idea that you can persuade the population of something and promote certain values. So what I'm wondering is why doesn't Hollywood when it has the free choice to do so promote certain values to sway the population and promote equality.

[malandrew]

Explain professional women's sports. Why don't they have equal size audiences despite the fact that they should appeal to half the population as role models (protagonists)? Men's sports still draw in much larger audiences from both genders.

[rimliu]

I you sure it is no real representation? Last I checked male leads outnumbered females in real world too.

[19eightyfour]

There's that right. But not all stories are about the corporate world or something like that. A lot of stories are about relationships or Adventures or fictional stories completely. In The stories of our lives, representation is mixed and balanced. So I don't think on-screen world does represent the real world... outside of extending say, inequality present in the corporate world, through narrative, to other Realms where it is not present or not as present. So I think that's a form of bias creation and misrepresentation that doesn't work to promote equality... Or reality.

Secondly, movies are fictional worlds so they can represent whatever their creators choose them to represent. They could be representing more equally. They're not.

To me the misrepresentation of reality and the bias representation of the fictional world in Hollywood movies is a really clear example of sexism.

Just one example and I'm a huge sci-fi fan of the Alien series and Prometheus series. But I was shocked that in the trailer for the new Prometheus movie not only is pretty much everybody white but pretty much everyone he's a man. And I'm like come on it's the future surely the creators can imagine that things are going to be more equal.

[danderino]

I think pretty much everything is male dominated no?

Its not just corporate world. Sports, politics, business, war,etc.

>Secondly, movies are fictional worlds so they can represent whatever their creators choose them to represent. They could be representing more equally. They're not.

I don't think this is fair. Some movies are completely fictional, but most are set on reality in some way. And I bet that in those completely fictional films, the ratio is much closer.

[19eightyfour]

Except it's really not. Reality is an equal number of female and male voices.

It's ridiculous movies don't tell women stories, nor show women characters; just "love interest", "plot device", etc. Even in fantasy a female lead is surrounded by a male ensemble or is a proto-male.

Hollywood: we have creative freedom, movies can be whatever we want, and we make them sexist.

IMHO, seeing Hollywood's sexism really ought not to be a too hard a place to start. People resist this. But they can't! Just google "best <genre> movie" and see all those male faces on posters. WTF Hollywood!

[doc_gunthrop]

> It's ridiculous movies don't tell women stories, nor show women characters; just "love interest", "plot device", etc. Even in fantasy a female lead is surrounded by a male ensemble or is a proto-male.

Looking at the Disney films made in the past decade, it appears female protagonist leads are more prevalent (e.g. Moana, Brave, Frozen, Spirited Away, etc.)

[19eightyfour]

Don't quote this

> It's ridiculous movies don't tell women stories, nor show women characters; just "love interest", "plot device", etc

To pretend a handful of Disney animations contradict this and make movies representative. They don't.

It's ridiculous movies are not representative. But they're not.

[danderino]

>Except it's really not. Reality is an equal number of female and male voices.

Not in things you'd make a move around.

[19eightyfour]

No, reality really is

> an equal number of female and male voices.

and I really would tell those stories... If I made movies. Don't pretend it isn't nor I wouldn't. And don't pretend they wouldn't be great movies because they would. They're just not being made and that's sexism plain and simple.

If you let the misrepresentations tell you what the reality is, you'll think there's no such women stories of course. If you open your eyes and heart and feel and think for yourself I know you'll see those stories that Hollywood could be making, but hasn't.

Or maybe you don't want to believe that, nor hear those voices, nor see those stories, nor tell them. I don't know, that's for you to think about it.

But the problem is not that the stories are not there, they really are. Nor that the stories are not great stories, they really are. The problem is that the stories, these stories, these womens stories, are not getting told. That's the problem. And that's sexist.

[Ace17]

Maybe Hollywood knows women are less likely to lose their time watching lots of blockbusters?

[flukus]

What's the ratio male/female antagonists in Hollywood movies?

[19eightyfour]

Totally. There's also that. Sexism against men. Why are men more often antagonists? That's not representing the microstories of our lives in a balanced or faithful way IME. Also, it's a fictional world. You can represent it however you choose.

Don't forget the sexist violence against men that is every major war. Millions of men murdered. For what?

I'm critical of a lot of claims of apparent discrimination, but the examples of sexism I see that are clear I really want to speak those loudly.