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Author:
Tarice L.S. Gray
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Tarice L.S. Gray parlayed her love of writing into a diverse career. She started out as a reporter for Cleveland's National Public Radio member station WCPN...
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There she co-wrote and co-produced the award winning documentary "Martin Luther King Day: A Day on Not a Day off" and wrote, produced and edited "Cross Colors" about the effect media images have on pop culture.
Tarice moved to Los Angeles and became a producer for National Public Radio's "Tavis Smiley Show" and "News and Notes".
She has also worked on the African American National Biography Project for Harvard University and written and published a book of poetry titled "Word Harvest". Tarice has also ghost written features and consulted on other documentary projects.
Currently she is a freelance writer and a member of the Writers' Guild of America, West.
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IMAGE OF ME
Hollywood’s fall television line up showcases several women in lead or prominent roles - and that’s a good thing - but this season, like so many others, women viewers are still searching for realistic images of us and plausible images for our children on the big and small screens. There are primetime television shows like Ugly Betty which portrays a Latina with the average woman’s curves, but there’s something disturbingly consistent about the rest of the casting. Unrealistic and in some cases unachievable beauty is again the top industry standard. Jean Kilbourne produced a documentary called Killing Us Softly for the first time in 1979; she remade it in the 80’s and again in this decade with worsening conclusions for each film, each time. She says the pressure to be thin and beautiful is now at an extreme level. The employment of some women has challenged such cookie cutter portrayals, Kate Winslet, and Queen Latifah are two examples. But Dr. Kilbourne maintains it’s very seldom that a woman (not necessarily a star) is cast in ads, movies or television that is “allowed to be not incredibly thin and not perfect looking.”
So who is the average American woman? Statistics say she’s about 160 pounds, is between 35 and 45 years old and, according to the US Census, makes up more than 50% of the population. Compare that to television. According to studies done by Dr. Martha Lauzen a Professor at San Diego State University, 42% of leading characters on the broadcast networks last season were women. And as far as I can tell they looked to be lighter than 160 pounds. Take for example the character Meredith Grey on the award-winning show Grey’s Anatomy. Most of us can relate to her struggles with love, and family, but we can’t identify with being a size 2. The standard size in Hollywood continues to beg the question - what are actresses to do about the pressure to be thin. Dr. Lauzen’s research further revealed only 26% of television decision makers are women. She thinks that’s the reason realistic women characters aren’t as prominent. Not enough women to make the argument for realism. Now, granted women like Shonda Rhimes, executive producer of both Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, have created a platform for women to shine, but in too many areas the light is dim.
More often than not, women are used only as wall paper. Dr. Lauzen says, “seven years ago I thought the “bimbo” image of women was gone. Now it’s been reintroduced”. She looks at shows like Deal or No Deal as an example in which women are the silent beauties. Some reality TV shows seem to thrive on hypersexual stereotypes. The Bachelor sets the scene with one handsome man having his pick of beautiful women. VH1 took that scenario a step further with Flavor of Love - a program where attractive women literally fought for rapper Flavor Flav’s attention.
Other statistics of Dr. Lauzen show the overall racial break down on television is this: 76% white, 13% black, 4% Latino and 4% Asia. But if we took an account of where the incremental changes toward realistic images, if any, are taking place on television it doesn’t seem to be among women characters of color. Dr. Clara Rodriguez author of the book “Heroes, Lovers and Others: the story of Latinos in Hollywood”, says she thinks it’s unfortunate that there are not more characters that young women can aspire to be. For Latinas especially adjectives associated with most on-screen images are hot, spicy and sex pot. Dr. Rodriguez believes that the image is not reflective of their community, and the regrettable truth is Ugly Betty is the exception not the rule.
For African American women Hollywood is a difficult land to navigate as well. Misha Harris is a beautiful actress who’s still searching for her big acting break. She started out about seven years ago while in her mid-twenties, and has since landed roles on My Network television’s Fashion House and Watch Over Me. On both programs, Harris played professional African American characters with substance, a doctor and an FBI agent. But at the start of her career she had another offer. Playboy auditioned her for a hosting job on the network. Harris walked away from the opportunity after posing a question to herself, which was simply “do I want to be represented in this light?” She says she doesn’t pass judgment on women who do take overtly sexual roles. After all it’s work and women need to make a living. But Harris says she personally didn’t want to promote that image.
One of the most prominent images for black women is in music videos. Congressman Rush specifically took aim at rap artists and producers for sexually degrading images of black women. And just down the road from the nation’s capital hundreds of protestors marched in front of the home of Black Entertainment Television president Debra Lee last month. BET as it is known, broadcasts many of the videos, which project questionable and unrealistic images of minority women. Dr. Cathy Cohen of the University of Chicago conducted a survey for the Black Youth Project sponsored by the University. Part of the investigation concentrated on the images associated with hip-hop culture. Music videos by some of the biggest names in rap music typically have scantily clad women, dancing provocatively without saying a word. Dr. Cohen asked about 1600 impressionistic young people between the ages of 15-25 if they thought videos were demeaning to black women. 66% of the young African American women surveyed said yes. 57% of young black men concurred. However, Dr. Cohen revealed both the young men and women felt helpless in the situation. She says, “They wanted to see other images produced but they didn’t feel like they had control over producing those images.” Yet the Rap industry goes on using the images because they think they sell!
These demeaning images do have an impact on their audiences. According to the American Psychological Association seeing a proliferation of sexualized images of women can lead to low self-esteem and depression in girls. It can also contribute to a young woman developing a negative sexual self-image. So if ingesting this constant diet of unrealistic beauty and blatant sexuality turns the stomach, what are our choices and when should we start administering the antidote?
First we have to overcome the obstacles that thwart change. One obstacle has to do with the legacy of minorities in Hollywood. Dr. Rodriguez says there was a time minorities would be thrilled to see any image of a person who looked like them on screen. To say we don’t like it may take away opportunities for a race of people that hasn’t had them. But is that still the case? Is society past the point where just being on screen is enough? Some may say women fare better than they did years ago and especially in television. That’s progress, but perhaps the consumer is now ready for a more plentiful supply of respectful realism.
In film, female characters represent just 28% of the leading character roles (that’s less than even 42% on television). Dr. Lauzen says, “That statistic hasn’t budged since the 1950s”. And the racial composition of characters is 73% white, 15% African American, 4% Latino, 3% Asia and 3% other. And again most of the female roles are for women in there 20s and 30s. Women are defined by their marital status versus a man’s occupation. And so it goes.
The hottest ticket these days is R-rated comedies but some say they objectify women just for a laugh. Perhaps as an anti-dote, there’s the popular genre of family films. Dr. Stacy Smith, a professor at USC does research for SeeJane, a non-profit founded by Academy Award winner Geena Davis to help create gender balance. Dr. Smith says that since 1990 the ratio of males to females in family content is nearly three to one. On the positive side girls are portrayed as typically good-natured, but then they’re not likely to be strong or even funny, just another pretty face. And the racial make up of such films was anything but an accurate picture of the real world, with 85% white characters, 5% black and the rest Latino, Asian and other ethnicities. So the question stands. With so many issues concerning the image of women is there hope for change? Congressman Rush might get results. And, researchers agree shining a light on the problem with hard facts makes people aware, and could possibly invoke change. Possibly.
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