LOS ANGELES, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Male characters outnumbered females by almost 2 to 1 in the top U.S. films of 2021, said a new study published on Tuesday.
In 2021, the second box office year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, females accounted for 35 percent of major characters in the top 100 grossing U.S. films, representing a decline of 3 percentage points from 38 percent in 2020 and 2 percentage points from 37 percent in 2019. Males comprised 65 percent of major characters in those films, according to the latest study titled "It's a Man's (Celluloid) World, Even in a Pandemic Year: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top U.S. Films of 2021" from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.
Females comprised 34 percent of all speaking characters, down 2 percentage points from 36 percent in 2020 but even with the percentage in 2019.
The study, based on a content analysis of over 3,100 characters appearing in films in 2021, found 85 percent of films featured more male than female characters last year. Only 7 percent of films had more female than male characters, and 8 percent of films featured equal numbers of female and male characters.
Regarding race and ethnicity, the percentage of Black females in major roles increased from 13.2 percent in 2020 to 16.4 percent in 2021. The percentage of major Latina characters doubled, rising from 5.7 percent in 2020 to 12.8 percent in 2021. The percentage of major Asian and Asian American females increased from 5.7 percent in 2020 to 10 percent in 2021.
Additionally, the study revealed that female characters were younger than their male counterparts, and more likely to have a known marital status, while male characters were more likely than females to have an identifiable occupation.
According to the study, films with at least one woman director and/or writer were more likely than films with no women in these roles to feature higher percentages of females as protagonists, in major roles, and as speaking characters.
Researchers at the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University have tracked the representation of girls and women in the top 100 grossing U.S. films since 2002. It claimed to be the longest-running and most comprehensive study of women's representation in film available in the country. ■