Misogyny on TV: A Look into the Mistreatment of Famous Women in Mainstream Media

#womenempowerment Nov 15, 2024

Did you know that 1 in 10 female characters on TV are portrayed in sexually revealing clothing, compared to just 1 in 60 male characters?

This stark disparity highlights the deep-rooted misogyny on TV, where women are often objectified and reduced to their appearance.

For years, Hollywood has perpetuated misogyny on TV, shaping harmful stereotypes and promoting a toxic portrayal of women. It's time to critically examine how misogyny on TV continues to negatively impact the representation of women, influencing how they are viewed both on-screen and in society.

Television Breakdown

The entertainment world has evolved in many ways, but the obvious usage of misogyny on TV has remained stagnant.

The industry has become more diverse, pushing the limits and covering more advanced topics.

Teen drama shows took misogynistic writing to a whole new level. This weird power dynamic obsession that writers have when it comes to relationships in TV shows needs to be discussed more.

Not to mention the very tired and terribly wrong storyline of teacher/student relationships in Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale.

Early sitcoms and WOC

Misogyny on TV has taken very few steps toward evolving in the right direction. Different genres tackle the topic in different ways.

Shows such as 7th Heaven and That 70s Show do it in problematic and sometimes obvious ways.

Women of color are also constantly subject to misogynistic and racial microaggressions in the media.

Black women were typically stereotyped on TV to play the "ghetto baby momma" or the "aggressive housewife" with no real plot line of their own.

The female character stereotype

For years, misogyny on TV has been evident in how writers and directors choose to portray female characters. Unlike their male counterparts, women were rarely written as equals to men in terms of importance and complexity.

In many cases, misogyny on TV relegated women to the role of background characters, objectified for laughs and only speaking when spoken to.

This gender bias extended to how misogyny on TV impacted the portrayal of plus-sized women, who were often cast as the comic relief friend with no depth or agency beyond humor.

Even more glaring was the absence of plus-size women of color as leading characters in mainstream TV shows and films.

Misogyny on TV made it almost unthinkable for a plus-size woman of color to be portrayed as the main love interest or hero of a story, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and erasing diverse representations of beauty.

It's time to confront and challenge the misogyny on TV that has limited the portrayal of women, especially those from marginalized communities, for far too long.

Changes in Misogyny on TV

As time progressed on, women were brought to the forefront but not in a productive way. Instead of ignoring them on the screen, the writers decided to objectify them in sexual ways.

Misogyny on tv is something that is finally starting to get called out by people after years of it getting swept under the rug.

Many episodes from your favorite comfort shows are aging poorly when it comes to certain lines, plots, and personality traits for some of the characters.

A perfect example would be Elliot Stabler from SVU. Yes, Stabler does have some redeeming qualities about him however, that does not take away how misogynistic and critical he can be to the female characters in the show.

Olivia Benson was constantly being talked over and dismissed by her male colleagues.

Some victims in the show weren't taken seriously because they were women and women have a stereotype of being overly emotional and dramatic. If the victim is both a woman and a member of the LGBT community, they were treated even worse.

Another example of misogyny on TV would be the Bachelor franchise.

In the bachelor, women will fight in the mud while wearing bikinis for views. No point in the “challenge” , just another way to objectify women and make them feel horribly about themselves for views.

It girls of the Early-Mid 2000s

In the early to mid-2000s came the “it girl era” which also gave the media a new way to talk down on women.

Paparazzi and blogs are starting to become one of the main ways that people get their celebrity news.

This is the era of Paris and Nicole working at sonic, Lindsey Lohan, and Hilary Duff are feuding, Aquamarine had just hit theaters.

The aesthetic was skinny. If you weren't stuck straight, no one in Hollywood would give you the time of day.

Misogyny on TV was at an all time high because now on top of the scripted shows we now have reality shows, TMZ, and magazines who continuously pit women against one another and judge them solely on their looks.

Let’s take a look into how the media treated Kim Kardashian's body in this specific era.

Flash forward to today and Kim Kardashian is one of the people who set the tone for curvy bodies to be in.

Back then Paris Hilton’s body was the body that everyone wanted. The goal was to look more like Paris who was tall and skinny and not like Nicole Richie or Kim Kardashian who both were curvier and shorter than Paris.

Men vs. Women in the Press

The way the media relentlessly tore down both Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie is a glaring example of misogyny on TV and the entertainment industry’s deep-seated bias against women.

While Brad Pitt, the man at the center of the scandal, was ultimately the one to blame for his infidelity, misogyny on TV led the media to shift the blame to both women.

Angelina Jolie was slut-shamed for years, while Jennifer Aniston was unfairly criticized for not wanting children, all while Brad Pitt was largely let off the hook.

This double standard highlights how misogyny on TV and in the mainstream media has long been a pervasive issue in Hollywood.

Misogyny on TV has existed since the dawn of Hollywood, and it remains just as big—if not bigger—of a problem today, with little progress made to address it.

To create meaningful change, one crucial step is to increase the representation of women behind the scenes, especially in the writers' room. By putting more women in positions of power, we can help combat misogyny on TV and create a more balanced, fair portrayal of women in the media.

✍️ Written by Emani Powell