Women and the Media

Stereotyping of Women and Girls

This section provides some resources and information about stereotypes of women and girls in advertising, and the entertainment and news media.

The aim is to provide information and links to materials that can help you learn more about the nature and the effects of stereotyping, help combat negative stereotyping and promote more positive images of women and girls in the media.

The American Psychological Association has brought out a hard hitting report on The Sexualisation of Girls in which it calls for for schoolbased media literacy training programmes as a way of combating the influence of sexualization. Read more in the News section

Girls, Women + Media project. A US site with a range of resources and links on the variety of ways in which the media portray girls and women.

See Jane, an organization founded by actress Geena Davis, "seeks to engage professionals and parents in a call to dramatically increase the percentages of female characters -- and to reduce gender stereotyping -- in media made for children 11 and under." "Gender equity has progressed in many ways, but male characters still dominate television, movies, and other media for young children. Since women and girls make up half of the human race, the presence of a wide variety of female characters in our children's earliest media is essential for both girls' and boys' development." Its website has a range of resources for parents.

In the US, Mind on the Media raises public awareness about the negative effects of images in the media. Their Turn Beauty Inside Out Campaign aims to "foster participation, discussion and awareness of images of girls and women in the media" by promoting media images that promote healthy behavior for girls and boys.