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https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality-report-2019-09-03.pdf

Movies with any kind of POC character or Female Character or LGBTQ+ Characters are very rare, only 1 movie of the top 100 from 2018 has an American Indian/Alaska Native female character.

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https://pittnews.com/article/156504/opinions/opinion-move-over-chad-the-importance-of-representation-on-screen/

"A lot of people assumed that I’d be a certain way just based on the stereotypes associated with Indians"

Good representation (Ones not rooted in stereotypes) helps discourage and break down stereotypes and can help others feel better

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Representation in the media is a topic that has gotten much more attention in the past few years. Countless articles, studies, speeches and Twitter threads have stressed the importance of on-screen diversity.

Representation matters because it can how minorities are viewed by society and how they view themselves. It's incredibly important that we're starting to see the media move to reflect more diverse stories. Growing up as an Indian American woman, I rarely saw people that looked like me on-screen and it really impacted how I viewed myself and how others viewed me.

This was compounded by the fact that on the rare occasion South Asians did appear on-screen, they were characterized almost exclusively by stereotypes. They usually spoke with heavy accents, were often side characters or appeared for two minutes to play doctors or convenience store clerks. And most of them were male.

A lot of people assumed that I'd be a certain way just based on the stereotypes associated with Indians. While I wouldn't deny that stereotypes are often rooted in truth, they're rarely favorable and often led to some uncomfortable conversations. I've often been asked things like "where are you REALLY from" and "are your parents going to make you have an arranged marriage" and "you speak Indian right" - and I've even been called a "curry bitch" and told to "go back to my country." I'm fully aware that I'm incredibly privileged to have only dealt with this type of innocuous ignorance and racism but it doesn't mean it was fun - especially when you're trying to fit in as an impressionable young kid.

So, I basically did the brown version of "I'm not like other girls" in order to subvert those stereotypes. When people would make comments about me being Indian, I'd point out that I was a second generation Indian American - meaning my grandparents were the ones who immigrated here and my parents and I were born and raised in the United States - and that I didn't even speak any Indian languages and had never visited India.

This led people to often exclaim that I was "Indian but not really" and as offensive as that definitely is, anytime any of the Chads or Karens said things like "Woah, dude, your house doesn't smell wack and your parents talk normal" I viewed it as the biggest compliment possible instead of recognizing the unintentional insults from ignorant kids for what they were.

I'd like to think that my experience would have been different if me and those other kids had more positive examples of Indians in the media growing up. A conducted by the group Children and Screens shows that stereotyped representation can impact how children belonging to minority groups behave and that it can contribute to racial prejudice among white audiences. However, examples of positive representation of minority groups were shown to diminish prejudice and bolster identity for minorities.

The powerful impact that representation has on audiences can't be ignored and we must push for more representation and make sure to value the representation that we do get.

When I was younger, characters like Apu from "The Simpsons," a heavily accented convenience store clerk that isn't even voiced by an Indian, or Baljeet from "Phineas and Ferb," a heavily accented overachiever, or Raj from "The Big Bang Theory," yet another heavily accented dork, were pretty much all that we had to look to. Indians often only appeared on screen to be the butt of the joke just based on their ethnicity and nearly all of them were characterized by a cartoonish accent.

For someone like me, a girl with zero accent and zero desire to work in a STEM field, that representation was sorely lacking. It wasn't until I hit my teenage years that I started to see more characters that came close to representing me - mostly thanks to Mindy Kaling. Kaling wrote for and starred on "The Office" as Kelly Kapoor and while I definitely couldn't relate to most of Kelly's personality, that was the first time that I saw an Indian female character that wasn't characterized by Indian stereotypes with a recurring role on a popular American show.

When Kaling left "The Office" to create and star in her own show, "The Mindy Project," it was the first time I saw an Indian woman lead a television show. When Kaling wrote and starred in the movie "Late Night" last year, that was the first time that I saw an Indian American woman play the lead role in an American movie. Not to mention none of these characters were defined by being Indian, but their ethnicity wasn't completely erased from their identity either. They struck a healthy balance the way that real people do between just being a person and being an Indian woman.

So it makes perfect sense that Kaling would be the creator of a new Netflix , "Never Have I Ever" with a main character named Devi - which is my name for those of you that skipped past the byline at the top of this column. The first season of the show is set to drop on April 27 and it stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan - who Kaling through a nationwide open casting call - as the first-generation Indian teenager who the show is centered around.

This show is the first of its kind, one of the few shows to star an Indian American woman and the only one to star a teenaged one. Based on Kaling's track record, it's bound to be a positive example that will hopefully bolster young Indian Americans' sense of identity and help to combat the stereotypes that some non-Indians hold about Indians.

Creators like Kaling and shows like "Never Have I Ever" are changing things for South Asian kids out there. Representation is finally starting to shift to include more diverse voices and stories and that's going to be hugely impactful on society as a whole.
Devi primarily writes about politics for The Pitt News. Write to her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter for more hot takes @DeviRuia

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Opinion | Move over, Chad: The importance of representation on-screen

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Representation in the media is a topic that has gotten much more attention in the past few years. Countless articles, studies, speeches and Twitter threads have stressed the importance of on-screen diversity. Representation matters because it can how minorities are viewed by society and how they view themselves.

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https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/representation-in-media-matters

"“just having a young Native kid seeing another Native person on TV opens up so many doors that say, “I didn’t know we were allowed to be there.” By doing the show, she said her kids and other Native children can say “Oh, I can do that, too.”"

Representation shows that people belong, and that they can do what they want to, especially for kids

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By JONATHAN ABBOTT
President & CEO, WGBH Educational Foundation

Media, in all of its forms, has immense power to shape ideas. Television, films and digital media can influence how we see others, and how we see ourselves. Accurate, authentic representation can break down barriers, open us to new ideas, create powerful role models, and even be a source of inspiration.

At WGBH, we value representation in all forms, and we highlight often unheard voices throughout the year in our programs. I am particularly excited that on July 15 we will be launching Molly of Denali, the first children's program to feature an Alaska Native lead character. Molly Mabray is a resourceful 10-year-old Gwich'in/Koyukon/Dena'ina Athabascan girl who will take young viewers on adventures that introduce them to Native Alaskan culture while teaching literacy skills. We are immensely proud of this production and the inclusive approach taken by our Executive Producer Dorothea Gillim and Creative Producer Princess Daazhraii Johnson and their team working with Alaska Native partners at all levels of the series, on camera and off. Every Indigenous character is voiced by an Indigenous actor and we're working together with Alaska Native screenwriters and producers to bring the series authentically to life. Live action segments feature local Alaskan children and activities.

Princess says she grew up not seeing anyone who looked like her represented in the media. Or if they were, it was a negative stereotype. But now, she says, "just having a young Native kid seeing another Native person on TV opens up so many doors that say, "I didn't know we were allowed to be there." By doing the show, she said her kids and other Native children can say "Oh, I can do that, too."

It's also important for girls interested in scientific exploration to see themselves in a field often represented by men. In 1965, Frances "Poppy" Northcutt was the only female engineer at NASA's Houston Mission Control. As isolated as Northcutt felt in the historic control center, she was one of thousands of women who began their careers at NASA as human computers. Their calculations would ultimately be responsible for sending astronauts to the moon. To young girls studying STEM today, Poppy is a role model. Her story is told in this digital short from WGBH's history series, American Experience and in their six-hour film Chasing the Moon, that premieres this week nationally on public television (and streaming online) as the anchor series for PBS's Summer of Space, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing.

Telling the stories of Molly and Poppy is the essence of public media. Visual media helps us see how the world works and our place in it. Everyone should be able to turn on a TV or stream a program and say "that person is just like me."

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Media, in all of its forms, has immense power to shape ideas. Television, films and digital media can influence how we see others, and how we see ourselves. Accurate, authentic representation can break down barriers, open us to new ideas, create powerful role models, and even be a source of...

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Why representation matters, according to teens -Phoebe

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Why representation matters, according to teens -Phoebe

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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/why-on-screen-representation-matters-according-to-these-teens

“If you see people who look like you and act like you and speak like you and come from the same place you come from … it serves as an inspiration,”

We all want to see ourselves in cartoon characters, so we need to get more diverse casts so people feel good and they feel like they have a place

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Why does representation in pop culture matter?

For some young students, portrayals of minorities in the media not only affect how others see them, but it affects how they see themselves.

"I do think it's powerful for people of a minority race to be represented in pop culture to really show a message that everybody has a place in this world," said Alec Fields, a junior at Forest Hills High School in Pennsylvania.

Fields was one of 144 middle and high school students who were interviewed about seeing themselves reflected - or not - on the screen. PBS NewsHour turned to our Student Reporting Labs from across the country to hear what students had to say a topic that research shows still has room for growth.

The success of recent films like "Black Panther" and "Crazy Rich Asians" have - again - sent a message about the importance of representation of minorities, not only in Hollywood but in other aspects of pop culture as well.

Only two out of every 10 lead film actors (or 19.8 percent) were people of color in 2017, this year's UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report found. Still, that's a jump from the year before, when people of color accounted for 13.9 percent of lead roles. People of color have yet to reach proportional representation within the film industry, but there have been gains in specific areas, including film leads and overall cast diversity.

According to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the nation's population is nearly 40 percent non-white. By 2055, the country's racial makeup is expected to change dramatically, the U.S. will not have one racial or ethnic majority group by 2055, the Pew Research Center estimated.

Some students said that not seeing yourself represented in elements of pop culture can affect mental health.

"It just makes you feel like, 'Why don't I see anybody like me?' [It] kind of like brings your self-esteem down," said Kimore Willis, a junior at Etiwanda High School in California.

Others said they often look to trends in pop culture when forming their own identities.

"We need to see people that look like ourselves and can say, 'Oh, that looks like me!' or 'I identify with that,'" said Sonali Chhotalal, a junior at Cape May Technical High School in New Jersey.

Others, however, feel that Hollywood is overcompensating for their lack of diversity by depicting exaggerated and stereotypical characters.

Eric Wojtalewicz from Black River Falls High School in Wisconsin said that he sees a lot of gay characters that seem "over-the-top," playing on old tropes. "I definitely think that not all gays are like that," he said.

Kate Casper, a junior at T.C. Williams High School in Virginia, called Hollywood's attempt at diversity "disingenuous." Although there can never be enough diversity, Casper said, she feels that the entertainment industry is using diversity for economic benefit. "Diversity equals money in today's world, which is cool, I guess," she said, adding that "it's cooler to have pure motives."

The UCLA report agrees that diversity sells. It says that the median global box office has been the highest for films featuring casts that were more than 20-percent minority, making nearly $450 million in 2017.

Although public opinion may be divided about whether the entertainment industry is doing enough to represent all types of people, South Mountain High School student Dazhane Brown in Arizona said that feeling represented is "empowering."

"If you see people who look like you and act like you and speak like you and come from the same place you come from ... it serves as an inspiration," Brown said.
PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs produced this story in an effort to highlight the importance of representation of minorities in popular culture. Students from 31 Labs across the country submitted these responses.

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Why on-screen representation matters, according to these teens

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For some young students, portrayals of minorities in the media not only affect how others see them, but it affects how they see themselves.

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https://arabfilminstitute.org/what-exactly-is-media-representation-anyway/

"Strong and positive representation can help fight and break down stereotypes that can be detrimental to individuals and limiting to society."

Representation has to go beyond just a background character, or tokenism, to be effective

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The importance of representation in media has been a prominent topic as of late. From the 2015 Oscars "so white" to the heavy discourse surrounding this year's remake of Ghostbusters with an all-woman leading cast, we've finally begun to see a shift in attitudes towards the representation of underserved demographics in a variety of media. Even this year's Olympics in Rio has been a huge force for representation, especially for women of color from all over the world. It is important to understand representation, though truly understanding the depth of a seemingly simple concept can be tough. We're going to take you through some of the basic concepts of media representation and its importance, both to underserved communities, and to our society at large.
What does representation in the media really mean?
The basic definition of representation in the media is simply how media, such as television, film and books, portray certain types of people or communities. There are a number of groups who are underrepresented in most Western media. They include women, people of color, LBGTQA+ people, people with a range of body shapes and types, people of non-Christian religions, and differently-abled people. There has been a steady increase of diversity in media, but progress has been long and slow.
But I see diversity in media all the time...
There are a few major ways producers of media can misrepresent a community, under the guise of creating diversity. The first is tokenism. is when the inclusion of a minority or other underrepresented group is no more than a symbolic effort to make a story or environment seem equal or diverse. This can be seen in many different aspects of life, from the "diversity hires" at work, to the gay best friend in a television show. Another way to misrepresent people is through can be seen in media through the assumptions of how a certain type of person is supposed to be due to their racial, ethnic, gender, sexual or religious identity. Stereotypes, even those that seem harmless or even positive, can have a profound effect on society as they create unrealistic, and often negative, expectations and assumptions. which generally refers specifically to actors, is when a person is repeatedly assigned the same type of role due to success with that role in the past or because they "look like" a specific stereotype. This can happen to all types of people, but underrepresented people tend to find themselves pigeonholed into the same roles again and again. Actor and comedian Aziz Ansari wrote Tokenism stereotyping and typecasting, which are two concepts that are very closely related. Stereotyping Typecasting, Common stereotypes of Arabs in Western media include the Arab man as a terrorist or an oil-hungry sheikh. a piece in the New York Times about the struggles he's experienced as an Indian actor, and he touched specifically on typecasting. He wrote, "Even though I've sold out Madison Square Garden as a standup comedian and have appeared in several films and TV series, when my phone rings, the roles I'm offered are often defined by ethnicity and often require accents."
What's the importance of representation?
Strong and positive representation can help fight and break down stereotypes that can be detrimental to individuals and limiting to society. When a group of people is only ever represented in negative ways, it adversely affects the way others see them, as well as the way they see themselves. Which means, on the flip side, positive representation can build self-confidence in individuals. It offers them role models to look up to and people and characters to be inspired by and reinforces that they are not lesser than. They can be the superhero, the doctor, the actor or whoever they want to be. The benefits of better representation are also not limited to the people represented. We all benefit from learning about different experiences and expanding our notion of what is "normal", isn't this one of the fundamental purposes of art?

More diverse representation also opens up new and better opportunities. For example, there is a specific lack of acting opportunities available to non-white actors, simply because scripts insist on white characters. More diverse scripts, create more diverse roles which create more opportunities for non-white actors. And when this diversity goes a step further, beyond tokenism, it also opens the door for more interesting and complex roles for these actors. All of this ultimately leads to richer stories, new voices and new perspectives in our media.
Well, media companies are just doing what makes them the most money...right?
Not so true. The 2016 Hollywood Diversity Report from the Ralph J.Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA, found that in the United States "increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse film and television content". More specifically, the report found that films with more diverse cast had the highest median global box office receipts and the highest median return on investment. It also showed that social media engagement peaked for scripted broadcast and cable television shows that also had more diverse casts. So...that theory's pretty much dead.

Want to learn more about diversity and representation in the media? Check out our blog post on diversity reports.

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What Exactly is Media Representation Anyway? - Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI)

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The importance of representation in media has been a prominent topic as of late. From the 2015 Oscars "so white" to the heavy discourse surrounding this year's remake of Ghostbusters with an all-woman leading cast, we've finally begun to see a shift in attitudes towards the representation of underserved

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https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/representation-matters-study-nrg-black-americans-media-1234772025/
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A majority of African Americans feel like they aren't properly represented in media

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Two in three Black Americans don't feel they see their stories represented on-screen, according to a new study from National Research Group ( NRG).

The study, entitled "#RepresentationMatters," also found that 67% of Americans across political ideologies and ethnicities feel there is a greater need on-screen representation of all of the following: mixed race individuals, Black men, Black women, Black children, Black teenagers, Black gay men, Black gay women, Black transgender men, Black transgender women, Black non-binary or genderqueer, Black men with disabilities and Black women with disabilities.

Additionally, 74% of those polled reported that content being inclusive (representing different cultures or people) is a key factor when they are choosing what they will watch.

"The high level of consumer interest in diverse stories and voices surfaced very strongly in this research. We believe our insights can inspire creators and marketers to get behind stories that offer a fresh point of view and bring to light more multi-faceted identities," says Cindi Smith, vice president, diversity, equity and inclusion practice, National Research Group.

For this study, NRG polled almost 1400 Americans between the ages of 18 and 54 who are heavily engaged with pop culture. The study shows that 91% of them overall believe media has the power and ability to influence society, and 77% of them reported that they believed the way Black Americans, specifically, are portrayed in the media will influence people's perceptions of real-life Black Americans. (When looking at the Black Americans polled, 87% believe portrayal influences real-world perception.) Digging further, 66% of everyone polled believes the media currently perpetuates negative stereotypes of Black people, while 83% of Black Americans polled believe that.

Although the study also shows that significant progress has been made since the 1960s, there are systemic problems that are still far from being resolved. For example, 62% of everyone polled feels Black writers and directors are still underrepresented in Hollywood, which can lead to less representation on-screen, as well. (Out of the Black Americans polled, 77% felt this way.) Seventy-nine percent of Black Americans also note it is "obvious" when Black characters or characters of color are not written by people of color.

Projects that did get points for strong representation and inclusion in this study include 2018's "Black Panther," and ongoing television series "Black-ish" (which first premiered in 2014 on ABC), "Empire" (which wrapped up its six-season run on Fox this fall but has a spinoff in the works) and "Black Lightning" (which premiered in 2018 on the CW).

But those who participated in this study overwhelmingly feel like the supply for inclusive content is not meeting their demand. From all participants there is interest in content that features mixed-race characters or families (86%), content that has Black characters from all types of economic backgrounds (85%), content with Black directors or writers (85%), content with diverse casts (85%), content that depicts Black people in "everyday life" (83%), content with characters that break racial stereotypes (82%), content with unknown Black figures in history (80%), content with all Black casts (77%) and content with characters that breaks gender stereotypes (74%).

Moving forward, the study suggests for anyone creating content about Black characters and characters of color, some of the most important things are to tell untold stories and create multi-dimensional and complex characters in any genre that are not limited to Black stories, as well as to not allow Black characters to be reduced to stereotypes or to let the dominant narrative be about Black struggle.

In order to do this, better distribution opportunities for Black creators are needed, according to 82% of participants (91% of Black participants), and there also should be specific hiring efforts among Black creatives, according to 78% of participants (90% of Black participants).

The study also broke out a subset on what changes the youngest generation (Gen Z) wants to see: 90% of them reported that they think better distribution opportunities for Black creators is key to better representation, and 84% currently agree that there isn't enough funding for content created by Black people.

This study was conducted from September 5-8 of this year, with consumer interviews conducted in partnership with Dynata, Prodege, Marketcube, and DISQO. NRG additionally conducted eight in-depth expert interviews with media/cultural theorists, NGOs and NPOs, and industry leaders to inform the research.

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Two in Three Black Americans Don't Feel Properly Represented in Media (Study)

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Two in three Black Americans don't feel they see their stories represented on-screen, according to a new study from National Research Group ( NRG).

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/05/22/why-is-equal-representation-in-media-important/?sh=2649fa042a84
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Why is representation in media important

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Why is it so important to have equal representation in film, TV, and popular media? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Nancy Wang Yuen, Author of Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism, on Quora:
In 2015, the average US resident consumed traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours, an average of approximately 15 and-a-half hours per person per day. In the same year, children (eight- to twelve-year-olds) consumed an average of six hours of media a day, and teens consumed nine hours. This mindboggling amount of media consumption shapes how we see the world we live in. Though they are largely fictional, on-screen images can shape our views of reality.

Popular media can have a negative impact on whites' perceptions of people of color. One study found that nonverbal racial biases in facial expressions and body language, as represented on popular television shows, influence white viewers' racial biases. Furthermore, a lack of contact between racial groups can lead to greater reliance on media stereotypes when formulating ideas about people outside one's race. Studies show that audiences substitute stereotypes they see on screen for reality when they have not had any direct interactions with particular racial groups. For instance, Latino stereotypes in the media can lead audiences negatively to associate immigration with increased unemployment and crime.

In addition to aggravating racial tensions, the erasure and negative portrayals of people of color can adversely affect how people of color see themselves. Prolonged television exposure predicts a decrease in self-esteem for all girls and for black boys, and an increase in self-esteem for white boys. These differences correlate with the racial and gender biases in Hollywood, which casts only white men as heroes, while erasing or subordinating other groups as villains, sidekicks, and sexual objects. Studies also show how media images of Native American mascots lower the self-esteem and affect the moods of Native American adolescents and young adults, who have the highest suicide rates in the United States. The ubiquity of racist imagery can have cumulative effects on society. We cannot dismiss the media's differential portrayals of racial groups as mere entertainment if we are to take seriously their impact on our youth.

(Excerpts from "Introduction" chapter of Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism)

This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook. More questions:

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Why Is Equal Representation In Media Important?

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Why is it so important to have equal representation in film, TV, and popular media? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

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https://www.racetoacure.org/post/the-importance-of-representation-in-media

"Misrepresentation and a lack of diversity in media negatively impacts marginalized communities, including racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled people, and women. "

Lack of representation leads to issues down the road for people's mental health

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The Importance of Representation in Media

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The comfort of finding a character you relate to. The pride of seeing your beliefs, culture, and traditions embraced on the big screens. The joy of seeing a hero that looks just like you. How many of us have experienced this, and how many have not? Media, especially in the form of film and televisio…

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https://www.vice.com/en/article/zmwq3x/why-diversity-on-screen-is-important-black-panther
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Black Panther felt empowering to minorities, as it had an African superhero portrayed in a good light

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Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is So Important

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"Black Panther" has been hailed as a model success story for depicting diversity on screen. According to past research, the representation of minority groups in mass media has a powerful educational impact on audiences.

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https://thehawkeye.org/19661/op-ed/the-importance-of-representation-in-media/
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There should be more representation in media

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The importance of representation in media

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Nhung Lam This past year has been a time of dramatic social change. With movements like #MeToo and HeForShe starting after the exposure of movie producer Harvey Weinstein as a sexual predator, increased awareness has been placed on the rights of female, colored, and LGBTQ communities. But what could…

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https://kidspiritonline.com/magazine/the-media-that-raised-us/the-importance-of-equitable-representation-in-the-media/
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Not enough representation of women and minorities

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There is a lack of equitable representation of women and minority groups in the media, and those racial and gendered disparities are critical in defining the social dynamics and hierarchies that exist in society.

Representation in media magnifies outreach and power. The media can either reinforce or dismiss those who wield social and political influence. Moreover, the content that the industry creates and how media is consumed lowers people's self-confidence and changes their self-image. The fewer women and minorities that partake in media creation, content, and distribution, the less accurate the media becomes. This article will examine the impact media has on society, specifically how a general lack of representation in the media can negatively affect women and other underrepresented minorities, while also giving those same people a platform through which they can influence society.

Establishing the reach and influence of the media is critical to understanding the magnitude of how underrepresentation affects people. As technology has evolved, the power that media outlets have has grown tremendously. Currently, the media has become all-encompassing and encircles most aspects of our lives. Every day there is media that we consciously choose to surround ourselves with. Whether scrolling through Instagram, creating a Spotify playlist, reading a book, or simply watching TV, we actively choose to be influenced by the media. In 2015, US residents consumed traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours. This averages approximately 15-and-a-half hours per person per day. In that same year, children (eight-to-twelve-year-olds) consumed an average of six hours of media a day, and teens consumed nine hours (Forbes). Furthermore, there are a whole set of moments where we have no control over the media being consumed and the influence it might have. In unavoidable daily activities like walking down the street or using transportation, the media surrounds us. From music being played to newspapers littering the sidewalks to the poster boards and ads around us, consuming media is an unavoidable part of existence in today's society. These forms of media can be even more constant as they enter subconsciously, and we have no real control over when and where they influence us. As hard as it might be to reconcile and admit, the media has so much power over us and can dictate something as simple as a small lifestyle decision or as significant as someone's self-worth. Society places enormous trust in media sources, and people rely on them to make everyday decisions. We allow the media to create and perpetuate social norms and shape our self-image. Standards of beauty, body image, fashion, and lifestyle are established and distributed by the media outlets around us.

Likewise, the characters depicted in the media significantly impact us and how we view ourselves. Negative stereotyping of a specific group or gender in the media can diminish the self-esteem of its viewers. When women and minorities are underrepresented, and children cannot find admirable people in the media who look like them, then their self-confidence is lowered. A 2011 study conducted by the Opportunity Agenda that looked at representation on TV and its impact on youths' self-esteem reached a similar conclusion. In a survey of around 400 Black and white girls and boys, researchers found that the only demographic that did not experience lower self-esteem after watching TV was the white boys (VICE). Clearly, underrepresentation is so important as today's undiverse and inaccurate media can and does diminish viewers' self-confidence.

Unfortunately, minorities and women are continuously underrepresented in the media; making up around 60% of all main film leads, the white male is still the demographic with the most power. In 2020, the percentage of top-grossing films with female characters in speaking roles was only 36%. Similarly, in that same year, the rate of films with female protagonists was roughly 38%. Additionally, regarding race, ethnicity, and other minorities, the percentage of Black females in speaking roles declined from 20% in 2019 to 17% in 2020. The rate of Latinas increased to 6% in 2020, and in the same year, the percentage of Asian women with speaking roles was also 6% (Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film). Also, people of color only made up 19.8% of all lead film roles in 2019. Finally, across the top 100 top-grossing movies of 2018, only 1.6% of characters were depicted with a disability, and only two portrayed a gay protagonist (UCLA). Conclusively, able-bodied, straight, white male individuals overwhelmingly dominate the film industry and lead roles.

By that same token, the news industry hasn't achieved anything that resembles gender equality. A 2015 Time report that drew on 49 studies of women across media platforms and used numbers from 2012-2013 found that men overwhelmingly dominate the news industry. Women in the evening broadcast news are on camera only 32% of the time, while 70% of all commentators on Sunday morning talk shows are male. Likewise, more than 67% of bylines are male, and men still dominate the "hard news," while women cover the lifestyle and education sections. Men report 65% of political stories, 63% of all the science coverage, 64% of world politics coverage, and 67% of criminal justice news. Unsurprisingly, only 10% of sports coverage is produced by women.

These results are not actually proportional to the US population. Not only do women make up 50.8% of the population, but, according to 2018 US Census Bureau estimates, the nation's population is nearly 40% non-white. Not to mention, the Pew Research Center found that the U.S. will not have one racial or ethnic majority group by 2055 (Pew). These numbers irrefutably show that, across most media platforms, women and minorities are underrepresented relative to the demographic composition of American society.

With great power comes a remarkable ability to do harm. The media has so much control over society, and media attention and screen time give people and groups influence. When the media only represents the abled white male's perspective, it reinforces those who already have social and political power. This constant focus on white, able-bodied men allows them to maintain their authority and disempowers women and minorities by excluding them from processes that are constantly setting standards, determining beliefs, and creating social hierarchies. In essence, as long as white able men continue to control not just the content but also the processes of creating media, they will maintain social power.

Additionally, this lack of representation leads to blatant falsities and the creation of harmful media content. As long as the media continues to only be made and distributed by mostly white, straight, able-bodied men, then it will continue to spread negative and erroneous stereotypes. This is incredibly harmful because when people, particularly children, continually see false information and stereotypes in the media, they begin to believe it. When these inaccurate depictions are constantly reinforced, they become a reality, primarily if a person does not engage with other communities daily. The mass media can serve as a curriculum with an educational impact on people who have very little or no direct contact with members of the groups being portrayed. For instance, people with disabilities have faced centuries of belittlement, forced isolation, and discrimination. It was only in the 1960s that the disability rights movement was formed, and it was even later that basic vocabulary like ableism (discrimination against people with disabilities) was introduced. Therefore, when disabled characters are around 15% more likely to be rescued in family films than other characters (Ford Foundation), it stops progress. The media is reinforcing the stereotype that all disabled people are in need of saving, and that harms society by perpetuating and teaching people this inaccurate perception of all people with disabilities. Basically, the only way to stop these atrocities from happening is to include women and minorities, such as people with disabilities, in the processes of creating media.

To summarize, the media dictates so much in our society. What counts as equitable representation in the media is determined by the kind of society we want to create and who we want to have power. If we want minorities and women to have a platform to influence society in a significant and impactful way, then they have to be represented in the media. Additionally, if we want people to have an accurate understanding of groups and communities they don't engage with daily, then the media must stop perpetuating stereotypes. Furthermore, the only way the media will spread accurate depictions of people and communities is if minorities and women are included in the creation and distribution of that media. Finally, if we want the 15 hours daily we spend consuming media to make us feel good about ourselves and not lower our self-perceptions or self-confidence, something has to change. The same media that dictates and perpetuates harmful aspects of our society, like negative stereotypes, can also be the vehicle by which we achieve positive change, and it's up to us to decide what we do with the power and influence the media has.
Sources:
UCLA School of Social Sciences. "Hollywood Diversity Report 2019." February 21, 2019. https://socialsciences.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/UCLA-Hollywood-Diversity-Report-2019-2-21-2019.pdf.

Smith, Stacey L., et al. "Inequality in 1,200 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ & Disability from 2007 to 2018." USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, 2019. assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality-report-2019-09-03.pdf.

Lauzen, Martha. "Research." Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, June 17, 2016. womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/research/.

Navarro, José Gabriel. "Female Sexualization in Film by Age 2018." Statista, August 12, 2021. www.statista.com/statistics/641313/film-female-sexualization/.

Heumann, Judith. "Roadmap for Inclusion: Changing the Face of Disability in the Media." Ford Foundation, 2019. www.fordfoundation.org/media/4276/judyheumann_report_2019_final.pdf.

Alter, Charlotte. "Women in Media: 8 Sad Truths from the Women's Media Center 2015 Report." Time, 5 June 2015, time.com/3908138/women-in-media-sad-truths-report/.

Lawson, Kimberly. "Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is so Important." VICE, February 20, 2018. www.vice.com/en/article/zmwq3x/why-diversity-on-screen-is-important-black-panther.

Wang Yuen, Nancy. "Why Is Equal Representation in Media Important?" Forbes Magazine, June 29, 2021. www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/05/22/why-is-equal-representation-in-media-important/?sh=615108342a84.

Cohn, D'Vera, and Andrea Caumont. "10 Demographic Trends That Are Shaping the U.S. and the World." Pew Research Center, July 27, 2020. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/.

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The Importance of Equitable Representation in the Media

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Representation in media magnifies outreach and power. The media can either reinforce or dismiss those who wield social and political influence. Moreover, the content that the industry creates and how media is consumed lowers people's self-confidence and changes their self-image. The fewer women and minorities that partake in media creation, content, and distribution, the less accurate the media becomes.

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https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=communication_faculty_pubs
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Don't misrepresent minorities