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Girls Aren't Reflected in Animated Movies

Women working in animation need to support each other, mentor younger women, and be more willing to take charge, according to a panel of artists and directors organized by See Jane, a non-profit working to increase female represnetation in media and decrease stereotyping. The forum was organized in response to the organization's powerful study, which revealed that 3 out 4 characters in the most popular 101 G-rated movies from 1990-2004 are male.

The forum was held Oct. 12 in Burbank, Calif., and included See Jane founder Geena Davis; Brenda Chapman, story artist and director, currently at Pixar; Dean De Blois, co-writer and co-director of Lilo and Stitch; Jenny Lerew, story artist, DreamWorks; and Fred Seibert, Executive Producer, Frederator Studios. Animation Guild president Kevin Koch moderated.

Here's a summary of what was said, as prepared by SeeJane:

• It's a man's world. Parallels were noted between the lack of female characters in G-rated films and the lack of women working in the animation industry. No one had the sense that women were being actively discriminated against regarding entering the industry, and all the women who spoke (both from the panel and from the audience) expressed that they felt mutually respected by their male peers, and that the animation industry doesn't seem to suffer from overt sexism among its ranks.

  It was noted that the percentage of women applying to animation schools has been historically low, and that the women who did seek animation training seemed to have about the same or even a slightly better likelihood of later success in the industry (this was anecdotal). At the same time, women have historically enrolled in high numbers in fine arts and experiemental animation programs, so a disconnection was noted between the relatively high percentage of women interested in art and those interested in the animation industry. A possible connection between the lack of female characters in animated shows and the lack of interest by women in the industry was noted, as was the upsurge in interest in our industry by young Asian women and the rising popularity of Anime (Japanese animation).

• Bias in unintentional. There was not a sense that the studio execs were mandating mostly male characters in animated films. None of the story artists/directors on the panel had any recollections of being steered away from doing female characters for animated films. At the same time, often the writers and story crews of animated films are overwhelmingly (or completely) male, and much of the male-character bias appears to be unconscious and unexamined.

• Women censor themselves. There was a sense that a certain amount of what, for want of a better term, could be referred to as self censorship goes on among some female creatives, perhaps to avoid potentially being seen as having a personal agenda regarding getting more female characters into the shows they work on.
  
  
• Diversity is key. Often the only female in the room gets asked to create the only female character in whatever show, and veryone gets very nervous about the one female character. She has to be all things to all people: pretty, smart but not bookish. If there is more than one character that is female, then the pressure to have a perfect character is off: one female can be funny, another silly, another adventurous -- and you even get to keep the "pretty" one in. One solution could be to change characters that don't
  have to be male into females.

• Women need to make connections. Women need to be more willing to take the reigns of doing their own films (i.e., not waiting for permission from the big studios). Many women expressed the desire to become involved in both mentoring younger women, and in connecting with and supporting each other.

• Talking helps. Overall there were no smoking guns found, and no specific or even general solutions. The most powerful aspect of the event might be that the issues of gender imbalance in animated shows and in the animation workforce were brought to light. By making the issues overt, at least a portion of the unconscious bias and potential self censorship will disappear. There was a palpable sense of relief among the crowd -- most of whom work in the industry -- that an important first step was being taken.

Parents: Do you notice a gender divide in the animated programs your kids watch? How do you handle it? What do you wish the industry would do?