This document discusses gender inequality and stereotyping of women in various areas of society such as politics, media, and education. It provides several troubling statistics showing that women are underrepresented in leadership positions, earn less than men for the same work, and face high rates of body image issues and sexual assault. The document suggests examining popular films and how they portray male and female characters to understand prevailing stereotypes that influence societal perceptions of gender roles and opportunities.

1. Miss Representation

2. Thinking about opportunities, perceptions, performance, etc.
When you were…
…in elementary school…
Were boys and girls equal?
In middle school…
Were boys and girls equal?
In high school....
Were boys and girls equal?
Are men and women equal? Provide examples.
Why is this?

3. 71 countries in the world have
had female presidents or prime
ministers, the US is not one of
them.

4. U.S. women earn 77¢ to every
dollar that men earn.

5. 65% of US women and girls
report disordered eating
behaviors.

6. The number of cosmetic surgical
procedures performed on youth
under age 19 more than tripled
from 1997 to 2007.

7. Between 1937 and 2005 there were
only 13 female protagonists in
animated films...All of them except
one had the aspiration of finding
romance.

8. Forty-two percent of first to thirdgrade girls want to be thinner,
while 81 percent of 10-year-olds
are afraid of getting fat .

9. The American Psychological
Association estimates that teens
are exposed to 14,000 sexual
references & innuendos per year
on TV.

10. Twenty to 25% of women in
college reported experiencing an
attempted or a completed rape in
college .

11. 53% of 13 year old girls are
unhappy with their bodies.
That number increase to 78% by
age 17.

12. The US ranks 97th in the world for
number of women in national
government.

13. Men occupy 80 to 95-plus percent
of the top decision-making
positions in American politics,
business, the military, religion,
media, culture, and
entertainment.

14. Why is this?
What historical
explanations exist?

15. Ask students to think about any movies they seen
recently. Think about :
The Protagonists;
Women in the film;
The men in the film;
How would you describe the characters of the leading
male and females in the story? What do they look like?
What do they do? What are they? What race are they?