Double Standard 14
research questions did not specify the direction of relationships between variables, a two-
tailed test of significance was used. For tests involving 2 X 2 tables within age categories,
Fisher’s Exact Test was used, since sample sizes within age categories were small. Once
a relationship was established as significant, analysis of variance was used to test whether
relationships between age and dependent variables were linear or non-linear. Data
analysis was restricted to major characters only in the television programs (N=1158) and
the films (N=1733) examined, since discerning leadership roles, occupational power,
goal-seeking behaviors, and effectiveness at achieving goals among minor characters
(that appear only briefly on screen) lacks face validity and reduces intercoder reliability.
Results
Age, Gender and Representation
The first research question asked if popular films and television programs
continue to misrepresent the age distribution of the U.S. population. To examine this
question, the age distribution of major female and male characters appearing in television
programs and films were compared to the age and gender distribution of the U.S.
population, according to the 2000 Census (U.S. Census, 2003). Since only television and
film characters aged 13 and older were analyzed, all percentages for television programs,
films, and the U.S. population are based on those 13 years old and older.
Television. In prime time, teenage males and those in their 20s were under-
represented (see Figure 1). Males in their 30s, 40s, and 50s were over-represented while
those in their 60s were dramatically under-represented. Only 4% of males in the
television programs analyzed were aged 60 and older, compared to 18% in the U.S.
population.
Teenage females and those in their 20s were slightly over-represented. Females in
their 30s were dramatically over-represented. Fully 39% of female characters were in
their 30s while only 18% of females in the U.S. population fall in this age category.
Females in their 40s were slightly over-represented. Females in their 50s and 60s were
Convention