Christian Clifton believes the sexism in Hollywood is harmful to both women and men, and would like to see us get out of the self-feeding cycle of perpetual attractiveness.
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In her recent article, Hollywood’s Hidden Sexism, writer and actress Victoria Frings tells of her investigation into the apparent sexism that underlies the casting process in most productions. She gives case after case where the roles of men are defined almost entirely of attributes relating to his personality, occupation, or hobby while the roles of women often are boiled down to descriptions of outward appearance.
Frings gives two lists of common descriptors that find their ways to talent agents, one for female characters and one for males. The agents are directed to find women who are : “Smoking hot, beautiful, cool, personable, attractive, fit, stylish, siren, curvaceous, sexy, alluring and flawless”, and men who are: “ filthy rich, confident, wealthy, businessman, authoritative, debonair, corporate giant, brash, corn-fed, pudgy, adorable, serial killer, funny, smart, famous, passionate and handsome.”
This overwhelming discrepancy became more apparent to me as I thought back through my years of T.V. watching and movie going. Time after time men are able to be depicted all along the continuum of subjective attractiveness, with any shortcomings in that arena made up for with humor, wisdom, wealthy, or any number of other traits we as a culture still deem valuable. A man who was average looking could still be a main character if his main trait was being funny, or if he always had some valuable lesson to teach the viewers.
I had quite the opposite revelation when considering the female characters I had come to know over the years. From relatives to girlfriends, regular appearances to one-off scenes; if the camera focused on a female character she would most likely end up being attractive. The few times I can think of a non-attractive female lead are ones where she is either the center of some joke or she went through some Cinderella-level makeover where she ends up, as you probably guessed, drop-dead gorgeous.
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My introspection made me realize that the same though process behind casting has leaked its way into the world around us. The minds of men, both young and old, are trained from such an early age to deem attractiveness as a first requirement. Take the average group of guys, if they begin to talk about a woman from a distance the focus will almost always begin with (and sometimes stop at) a discussion of her physical attributes. As a little test to just how normal this is, next time you are with a group of guys doing this very thing bring up a question such as “How smart do you think she is?” or “I wonder what her favorite book is”, and count how many awkward looks you get.
It seems odd that physical beauty has taken such a forefront in our consideration of women when ultimately it is such a small fraction of who someone really is, and in time it will fade. Plastic surgery is not a miracle cure to aging, and sometimes the thinking it is leads to some scary looking results. In many ways it has become a currency in this age, one that we often gladly accept in place of other traits and give our attention in return.
I fall victim to this just as much as the next man, in no way am I immune to the physical beauty of women. Does an advertisement with a pretty face catch my attention? Yes it does, my brain usually catches up and points out that using a certain type of razor will not bring attractive women running after me but it might take a second or two. If it is such a guy reaction—to put such high value on looks—then any sort of change will require a serious reconsideration of the way we behave and think.
Men have allowed this to become a self-feeding cycle. We give more attention to women we find attractive regardless of their other traits. With media this translates to viewership of shows and movies that feature women we like to look at. The producers notice this and in turn feed us more of the same.
Most of us know that sexism is detrimental not only to women, but also to men and our entire society. We know that equality is something to aim for, and yet it is not a practice we readily engage in. Hollywood may be partly to blame, if not a direct root they certainly do not help fight sexism, but the makers of entertainment generally cater to popular consent. If the masses want it and consume it, they will make it for us.
Victoria Frings laments about the issues this sexism brings to aspiring female actors, and admits how overwhelming the situation may seem. Her words almost plead that a change may occur; as she puts it “it would be nice to see a complex female character physically, emotionally and mentally realized on-screen not by the hottest woman, but by the very real actress best suited to play her.” I agree with her.
Who knows what we will see if we can make some serious changes in the coming years by telling Hollywood that we want to see strong female leads that have more to offer than a pretty face. What kind of wonderful characters never made it because at some point a producer or director focused more on looks than anything else? How many wonderful actresses didn’t make it, to quote Frings, “because somewhere on the chain she was not deemed hot enough”? If we keep treating attractiveness as the most important attribute then we may never know.
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Photo: Sofia Vergara and Ed O’Neill of “Modern Family” attend the Emmy Awards, September 23, 2012. (Credit: AP/Frank Micelotta)
Original article: Hollywood’s hidden sexism: How casting notices keep beauty standards alive.
Great presentation and perspective, as always, Mr. Clifton. I appreciate the fuel you’ve added to the cultural conversation of equality. Having a Male voice that confront elements perpetuating gender inequality and social fallacies is clearly important. If you haven’t already take a look at another Salon article by Soraya Chemaly (http://www.salon.com/2014/01/22/6_reasons_female_nudity_can_be_powerful/) My favorite statement from this article references your point about idealized faux beauty being a “self-feeding process…” Chemaly states “Self-defined public female nudity is a challenge to capitalism and its uses of women as products, props, assets and distributable resources. ” Also i thought you might enjoy this video… Read more »
I think it interesting that so many people try so hard to despise the act of prejudice. While “pre-judging” is such a natural way of life. What I mean by this is that some one’s physical representation of themselves speaks largely to who they are underneath. If I see a woman who has taken cautious time from her day to do her hair and makeup and put an outfit that might fit a little close to the skin then I see a woman who wants to be looked at. On the other end I see a man dressed in expensive… Read more »
“Frings gives two lists of common descriptors that find their ways to talent agents, one for female characters and one for males. The agents are directed to find women who are : “Smoking hot, beautiful, cool, personable, attractive, fit, stylish, siren, curvaceous, sexy, alluring and flawless”, and men who are: “ filthy rich, confident, wealthy, businessman, authoritative, debonair, corporate giant, brash, corn-fed, pudgy, adorable, serial killer, funny, smart, famous, passionate and handsome.”” And how has this impacted casting? Frings implies that the women have to be gorgeous while the men simply talented. How often are the actresses really significantly more… Read more »
It’s so true. And it’s the reason I often won’t watch a show or a movie. If the actors are all extraordinarily good looking, I assume the story has no substance and is therefore not worth my time.
For further information on this subject, I recommend the documentary “Miss Representation.”
“Take the average group of guys, if they begin to talk about a woman from a distance the focus will almost always begin with (and sometimes stop at) a discussion of her physical attributes.” What else would you know about a stranger unless you’re an FBI profiler? If the only thing you know about a person is how they look, why wouldn’t you start out trying to approach someone you find physically attractive unless you believe that beautiful women can’t possibly be intelligent, successful, or kind. Men are still expected to approach women. He provides her the opportunity to know… Read more »
Good point.
To me whether or not the first topic of discussion is a woman’s physical attractiveness is not very indicative. To me I’d look more to what said “average group of guys” talk about AFTER there has been opportunity and time to get into other things.
For example if someone out of a woman were to stop and talk to that average group of guys and they cover things like hobbies, education, and career and then physical attractiveness is still all they talk about then maybe that would be indicative of something.