Women Bare All For Movies

Boobs, boobs and more boobs. If it’s anything over PG13, it’s almost a given that we’ll be exposed to female nudity when we go see a movie.

While most films are a far cry from Striptease, a new study by USC, a top-rated film school, finds that women are still cast in overly sexualized roles.

Of course, we do see the rare penis now and again, but women are definitely still the main attraction. The female body is more beautiful, people argue, and there is more to see, so why not? Well, it’s not that we’re ashamed, but when statistics say that 67 percent of men got speaking roles compared to 33 percent of women in the movies that topped the box office in 2008, we have reason to be concerned.

The lack of women with speaking roles leads to the objectification of women, contributes to the eating disorder epidemic that has spread its wings worldwide, not to mention it adversely impacts the way people view women as legitimate actors.

Unfortunately, women are also being left off the script behind the scenes. In the films that were studied at USC it was discovered that only 8 percent of women were directors, 19 percent were producers and 14 percent were writers.

Rather than lack of talent, the numbers tell us there’s something fundamentally askew in our values when it comes to comparing men and women actors. Women are being valued for their appearance and men for their abilities.

Of course, there are many examples where this isn’t the case, but the numbers are striking enough to tell us we need a major overhaul when it comes to women and men as they are represented in the film industry.

Sex may sell, but women have so much more to say than what they can express through body language.

Contact the author here: tinybart@morningquickie.com