Females in Animated Films: Where Are They?

Abstract

This study takes a closer look at gender representation in the 150 top-grossing animated films from 1980 to 2018. I decided to examine the gap between representation in male and female characters with things such as lead characters, speaking roles, rescues, unrealistic bodies, and family and romantic links. My results show that male characters have significantly more speaking roles than female characters and are, overall, more prominent in animated films than females. These results have proven to negatively impact the way children are socialized.