How Did SNL Make Its Comeback

 How Did SNL Make Its Comeback

If you haven't noticed, Saturday Night Live has been gaining a lot of popularity the past few years. It has had a growing audience and a large surge in viewers. SNL has always been a popular late night show, but it has never had as much engagement as it does recently. It was very popular in the late 70s and 80s, around the time of its origin, and has since fallen off. How has SNL rebranded themselves into a show that millions of people watch every saturday night, and how have they gained so much attention? I believe there are a few factors as to why this is happening, and how other shows should take notes. 

The first and most obvious reason for Saturday Night Lives recent attention is because of their 50 year anniversary. SNL has been celebrating their 50th anniversary for the past few months in very grand ways. Firstly, a movie featuring a number of big stars premiered recently. It was in honor of the 50th anniversary, and told the story of the founder of SNL, Lorne Micheals. It talks about how they developed, how they decided on having different hosts and musical guests. Overall, the movie was very entertaining and funny, captivating fans of the show. SNL also hosted a very special 50th anniversary episode on the date of the actual anniversary. It featured a large number of celebrities and many of the returning and most famous cast members. The episode was viewed by over 15 million people across the United States, this made it NBCs biggest entertainment event in 5 years. 

Another one of the reasons why SNL has had a growing amount of engagement is because they have mastered how to captivate the attention of the Gen Z population. SNL has recognized the growing shift towards social media consumption and has embraced “Tik Tok culture”. They consistently include viral trends as well as more mature adult content, making their viewers span across most age groups. They have also created their own Tik Tok account where they post clips from the episodes, and have surpassed over a billion views on the platform. This has led them to have a 178% increase in social media engagement. 

The current cast of SNL plays a large role in its recent popularity. Multiple sources have considered the current cast to be one of the most influential and popular in its whole history. This could be due to their social media engagement, but the attention is majorly credited to their diversity. They all bring a fresh and new perspective to the show with many diverse points of view. The cast features people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, it also features people from the LGBTQ community. In addition to the cast the show has also featured many high profile musical guests and hosts. 

Overall, SNL has seen a surge in popularity and engagement due to multiple reasons. They have successfully built up a new audience who is loyal to the show and continues to return every Saturday night. They have also successfully reengaged their older audience with frequent and light political humor. If you haven't watched SNL recently, I highly recommend tuning into a recent episode.

Protect the Dolls T-Shirt: Its Impact and Importance

 Protect the Dolls T-Shirt: Its Impact 

You may have seen Pedro Pascal wearing this simple white T-shirt recently. Or you may have caught a glimpse of Troye Sivan's guest appearance at Coachella. This Protect The Dolls shirt has been blowing up all over the internet in the past few weeks. It has been creating a lot of buzz, and generating talk surrounding the trans community. How has this shirt had such a big impact on the internet? Why has it gone so viral? How is it helping the trans community, and what does it mean? 

Pedro Pascal on the Red Carpet 

“Dolls” is an endearing term that refers to trans women. It is typically used amongst trans women in a warm and affectionate way. It comes from slang that implies beauty and femininity. It is considered such a positive term because it is empowering and celebratory for trans women. 

The designer Connor Ives wore a plain white shirt with the words Protect The Dolls after his show in London this past February. This shirt was then picked up by celebrities and influencers who support or have close ties to the trans community. Two months later Pedro Pascal, an iconic actor best known for his roles in Game of Thrones and The Last of Us, wore it on a red carpet. The shirt went extremely viral and just a few weeks later Australian singer Troye Sivan wore it on Coachella's main stage while performing with Charli XCX. 

Troye Sivan's Instagram post at Coachella

Ives initially wore the shirt to protest the recent Equality Act that was passed which referred to only biological women, and excluded trans women. The designer did not agree with this statement and started selling the shirt on his website, with all proceeds going to the American organization Trans Lifeline. His sales have been increasing greatly by the day and he has successfully raised over $500,00 for the organization. The designer is passionate about fighting against Donald Trump's anti-trans policies because he has close ties to the trans community. 

The slogan has since become very popular, used on signs at protests, on people's shirts everywhere, and used in hashtags on social media. Pedro Pascal wearing the shirt on the red carpet was a very pivotal moment. He was standing up for his sister Lux, who happens to be a trans woman. He is largely credited for making the slogan so popular. When Troye Sivan wore the shirt shortly after, it was another big moment for the community. An article from Attitude Magazine claims that it is especially important when people in the LGBTQ community stand up for the trans community, and that is exactly what Troye Sivan did at Coachella. 

Sources: 

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/apr/25/protect-the-dolls-t-shirt-fashion-symbol-trans-rights#:~:text=When%20the%20designer%20Conner,has%20become%20ever%20more%20popular.

OP-ED: Social Media is Making Girls Grow Up Too Fast

 Social Media is Making Girls Grow up Too Fast: Op-Ed 

Have you ever been scrolling on your phone and seen a video of a girl who is dressed to the nines, full face of makeup, tall heels, dancing like nobody else is watching. You then look at her bio and find out that she is just a teenager who looks like a 25 year old. Half of the comments praised her, calling her beautiful. Half of the comments tell her she is trying too hard and she should go play outside. Unfortunately, this is very common on social media. Young girls trying to look older than they actually are for views and attention. Twelve and thirteen year old girls, in some cases younger, are dressing up and enhancing their womanhood for an invisible audience behind the screen. Why is this such a big issue, and how has social media made girls grow up too fast? 

Social media, and especially TikTok, has created a blurry line between childhood and adolescence. Girls are facing the stronger end of this, where boys do not care as much about looks, and find it easier to “keep up with the Joneses”. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have glorified and rewarded girls for looking desirable and being confident. But what does this mean for young girls? They have begun to try to emulate the way the adult influencers look, talk, and act. Their lives revolve around fashion, boys, makeup, and curating the perfect aesthetic for the outside world. Instead of going outside and creating skits with your friends, or playing jump rope, preteens are now making videos doing 15 step skincare routines and buying the newest lululemon leggings.                                                                                                                  

It is not a new concept that young girls are exposed to such unrealistic beauty standards. But something is new in this modern age. The difference between now and even just ten years ago is the speed and scale in which girls are exposed to “growing up”. Social media is always pumping out content to them, showing pictures of perfectly airbrushed influencers and essentially giving the picture the label “you should look like this too”, or “how to look like this”. The thing that these young girls are struggling to understand is that it is okay that they do not look like this, in fact, it is impossible for them to look exactly like Alix Earle. Most of these influencers are over 21 years old, and normal everyday 13 year olds question why they do not look like that. 

The modern day pressures to grow up fast aren't just purely for aesthetic reasons. They are ingrained in the social media generation, making the pressure more emotional and psychological. They have been programmed to market themselves in a desirable way that goes along with the trends that are happening online. They believe that their self worth can be measured in likes and followers versus the type of grades they get in middle school or how well they get along with their friends. Because they measure their worth in attention and validation, it becomes hard to separate their worth from what is going on behind the screen. 

What is the impact of all of this? Rising rates of depression, anxiety, and body-image issues amongst the teen and tween population. In a 2023 CDC report, 3 in every 5 teenage girls felt “persistently sad and hopeless”. This was the highest rate in over a decade. The CDC along with other valid resources conclude that this is for the majority due to social media. Others argue that social media gives girls a platform to express their confidence and creativity. But even with these positive outlets come the pressures from society and older women. Confidence can turn performative, and creativity turns into comparison. A space that once empowered girls ends up harming their self-worth and leaving them feeling drastically worse about themselves. 

Another side effect of the social media age is that these girls' childhoods are being ripped away. Times when girls would be playing outside, creating skits, playing dress up, they are now doing makeup routines and vulgar dances for the camera. They will never understand the childhood and innocence that they are missing out on. This isn't to blame them, they do not know what it was like for older generations. But it is still sad that what they don't know is still being ripped away from them. 

So what do we do about this problem? We have to ditch the narrative that this is not harmless. Social media is not “just for fun”, when a ten year old is worrying about her followers or like counts. There needs to be a bigger push for parents and educators to treat what their children are doing online just as seriously as what they do offline. There needs to be a space online created for girls that is age appropriate. They need to find a place that allows them to just be kids and not feel a strong pressure to grow up too fast. 

Though social media is here to stay, we do not have to accept the fact that it is fast tracking young girls' adulthood. Childhood is a time for exploration and adventure, and not to be facing these expectations. In order to take care of these girls' well-being, we have to rethink the way these platforms shape their lives and think of better ways to make it better.

A Flaw in the System: Psych Research

 As a psych major, something that has not only piqued my interest, but also slightly angered me throughout my studies, is how researchers throughout history have studied mental health disorders. Since its origin, clinical trials and psychological studies have been consistently, and solely performed on white men. Dating back to the earliest days of medicine, women, and people of color have been excluded from research and trials. This has not only impacted how treatment plans play out, how medicine affects one's body, but also how often diagnoses occur. From depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, to autism and more, women and people of color are either severely underdiagnosed, or improperly diagnosed. For years, researchers have assumed that the body and mind of the white male is “default”, and have since been treating all other human beings based on the findings from that of the white male. 

In the earlier days of medical research, women were barred from participating in trials because of their menstrual cycles. Researchers believed that their hormones would invalidate the trial, and mess up the data. Not surprisingly, the people performing these trials were men. Up until recently, psychologists and researchers considered women invalid candidates, and did not account that a woman's hormonal cycle impacts their mental and physical health, therefore impacting their potential diagnosis. The years of discrimination has led to a lack of understanding on how mental health disorders manifest in women. 

Like women, people of color, both male and female, are severely underrepresented when it comes to medical and psychological studies and trials. This is severely due to the systematic racism so deeply ingrained in our society. Researchers in the past 50 years or so have slowly begun to realize that the expression of mental health disorders and issues manifests differently in people of color versus white men. This has led to a need for more research, alterations of medication, and a call to action. How can one expect to treat their depression, for example, if physicians and therapists haven't received the proper information, education, and treatment plans for anyone else other than white males. 

How has ineffective treatment impacted women and people of color? It took a while for researchers to understand that the treatment plans will look differently on women and people of color. Not each mind works the same. Women have a completely different life experience than men, they have had to deal with different societal pressures, discrimination, and hormonal issues their whole lives. Same with people of color, they may have experienced racism, discrimination, and cultural differences than that of other cultures. All of these external and internal factors lead to different manifestations of mental health, making a need for varying treatment plans. Because research does not account for these factors, treatment has not been effective for women and people of color. Women metabolize drugs and medications differently than men. Group therapy sessions may not be as effective for one person, and extremely effective for the next person. These flaws in the system call for a need for more information, research, and a more diverse approach to psychology. 

There has been a growing push for more inclusive research. There has been recognition for the need of diverse research studies including women, people of color, and marginalized groups. Because of the climate of our society in modern times, researchers have been more willing to account for different cultures, genders, and overall life experiences when it comes to the mental health field. There has also been growing representation in the field. Mental health professionals are growing more diverse, no longer making it a white male led field. This has given marginalized groups a fighting chance at getting quicker and more accurate diagnoses. 

Though research is gradually growing more inclusive, women and people of color have yet to be studied. It is important that more research is done so that both parties are able to be understood. Mental health is such an important aspect of all peoples lives, and with the lack of research on all humans other than white men, it is difficult for us to fully understand how the mind works. Overall, the historical bias in the mental health field, which has predominantly been dominated by white men, has had a great impact on diagnosing and treating women and people of color. Creating a more equitable approach to research in the field will lead to more accurate and insightful treatments, and we will be able to ensure that everyone receives the care that they deserve, making mental health care more accessible and effective. 

Why Everyone Should Read for Pleasure

 Why Everybody Should Read For Pleasure

If you met any of my friends, or spoke to one of my family members, they will all tell you the same thing. Sophia loves reading. Growing up I always hated reading, I avoided it at all costs. When I came to college I discovered my love for reading. The number one thing that I will tell anyone who is interested in getting into reading is to find a genre you are interested in. Start with easy to read books, romance or comedies. These are the categories that got me started with reading. As I matured and grew as a person, so did my reading interests. I started reading mysteries, dystopian and fantasy books, and biographies. After a long, hard day, my favorite thing to do is to open my current book and escape into the world. To me, reading is like watching a movie. I can fully see the images in my head, and I feel like I am truly in the world that I am reading about. I will make the book that I am reading my entire personality trait and tell all of my friends about it. I also get emotionally attached to the characters and come to care for them. There is so much to discover when it comes to reading, but I want to talk about how it has helped me in ways greater than just enjoyment. 

Ever since I have started reading, I have noticed changes in the way that I view things, and even how well I perform in school. I truly believe that I have expanded my mind, learned new words, and have been able to retain knowledge better. Even if I have read a silly romcom, I find that my mind is more focused during my classes. When I extend my energy on something that is actually enjoyable to me, I have more patience for something that I may not be as interested in. I have also noticed that since I have started reading, my bad days have become better. I find an escape in my book, a palace for me to get away from what is going on in my life and just enjoy myself. Even on my busiest days, I try to find at least fifteen minutes for relaxation and enjoyment. 

Why do I think you should start reading? Everybody has an interest or hobby. Even if it is something you have never done before. There is a book out there for everything. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, there is something for you. As college students, or even just as someone who works all day long it is necessary to take care of yourself physically as well as mentally. I believe that reading something that you enjoy is the best way to release yourself from everyday pressures and let go. If you try it for just a week you will find yourself feeling lighter and more relaxed. The small act of taking fifteen minutes about your day will have you expanding your vocabulary, expanding your mind and finding new interests. You will notice your comprehension and writing skills when doing class assignments. One of the biggest benefits that you will notice, as I have, is that your emotional intelligence will grow. This is a very important skill to have as adults because it allows you to feel empathy and connect with your peers. 

I researched this topic. How does 15 minutes of reading for pleasure a day benefit you? I found countless studies and sources confirming what I already know and practice. In a particular study, the “magic number” fifteen was explored. Different students and individuals were tested. Some read 5 minutes a day, some fifteen, some thirty, and other various numbers. It was found that to maximize your intellectual potential and have better academic outcomes. Though reading more than fifteen minutes greatly improved the individuals mental health and success, fifteen minutes was found to be the magic number. This was consistent across all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. I hope that this information and this study encourages you to try and start reading for pleasure. 

Sources: 

https://www-fca.stjohns.k12.fl.us/media/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/06/The-magic-of-15-minutes_-Daily-reading-practice-and-reading-growth.pdf

Toxic Social Media Culture

 The Effect of Social Media on Women

In recent years, social media has been growing vastly. It started as a simple way for people to share recent life updates, but in the past ten to fifteen years it has grown into a large platform for people to not only share their lives but also compete with one another. I have grown up in the generation where we have always had social media, but older generations grew up without it. For the sake of this blog post, I interviewed my mom, who grew up without a cell phone for all her life and I wanted to see how it impacted her childhood versus mine. I want to explore deeper how social media and influencers are affecting girls in this generation.

For more context, the reason I have chosen to write about social media is because it has become an unsafe place for the youth to grow up with. Many young girls fall under the pressure of having to be perfect all of the time and presenting their best selves on Instagram and Tik Tok or other social media platforms. This is a very important current issue that many girls are facing. I have seen a lot of circulation online about young girls watching videos and looking at pictures, and how it has been really damaging to their mental health. They feel like they aren't good enough, and that they have to look exactly like these women who are so unrealistic. They often wonder why they dont look like this also and so it sends them into a spiral of feeling unworthy. 

When I spoke to my mother, I asked a few questions relating to mental health and body image issues. I asked her about how she felt growing up without having to look at celebrities or not having influencers to set idealistic standards. She told me that it is something that she never even had to think about and didn't even know existed until she had two daughters who have grown up with social media. She told me that she feels lucky to have grown up in a generation without conflict or competition. It is true that even in our parents' generation there were body standards and pressures to “look good” but it was not as widespread as it is now. Now, it is so much more accessible, and this puts a lot more pressure on developing girls. Another thing that I thought was really impactful that my mother mentioned is that she feels like because there were no phones or social media when she was growing up, she did not feel like she was always in competition with her peers and did not have this constant need to keep up. Something that I have noticed through Tik Tok and Instagram is that there are always revolving trends that are changing so quickly. Even I succumb to the pressure of wanting to have the newest trend in my closet, and this can get pricey and make people feel less than. My mother said that she has also noticed this in my generation and feels grateful that this was not a predominant issue in her generation. 

Something that I mentioned earlier, but that I think is probably the number one issue in my generation is influencer culture. Nowadays influencers are the number one form of advertising, and also are known as the most popular “it” girls on the internet. Most people strive to be like these influencers with large sums of money. What young and impressionable girls don't realize is that the reason these influencers look so good and are the ideal body standard is because they have these large sums of money. They can pay for expensive workout classes, body and face alteration procedures, and so much new technology to make them look the best they can. This is often not disclosed to their audiences, and girls can get frustrated when they don't see results regarding things like weight loss or skincare issues. One of the biggest examples that I can think of regarding this that recently happened this past week is with an influencer named Remi Bader. Remi was arguably one of the most influential plus size influencers, constantly putting out relatable content regarding inclusive plus size brands and more. She was very relatable to the plus size community, and always had such a positive impact on young girls struggling with weight. People liked her so much because she was so honest and upfront about her struggles with weight, but still always seemed happy and confident. In recent months, people noticed that she was rapidly losing weight and that she is now a size XS. This drastic change happened so fast, and Remi always told her audience that she just started working out and eating healthy. She also said she got her mental health problems under control and this allowed her to be motivated to workout and eat healthy. Hundreds of girls were inspired by her, they thought if Remi can do this, so can I. For months Remi Bader marketed her weight loss as the result of hard work. People were getting frustrated because they weren't seeing the same results as Remi even though they were doing the same thing as her. Last week, it came out that Remi Bader underwent weight loss surgery, and that was the reason she lost weight. This sparked a lot of controversy on the internet because her followers were disappointed that she was not honest about her weight loss. People were angry that she gave people false confidence and that she lied to her followers. As we can see this is a clear example of how influencer culture can be very damaging to young girls and how what you see online is not always real. 

Overall, I think it is very evident how influencers and social media have a massive impact on the recent generations, especially on girls. There have been many instances in which influencers have marketed products or even themselves in a very inaccurate way and this has caused plenty of mental health and body image issues for my generation. After speaking to my mother on the subject, it became even more apparent to me that this is a real issue. After learning about my mothers upbringing and relation to other girls her age, and the lack of competition, I feel saddened by the recent generation. It is not our fault that this generation faces such issues, but it is unfortunate that we have grown up with access to such toxic standards. It is my hope that in the future children can stay away from these ideas for just a little longer and enjoy their childhood. 

Women in Hollywood

 Women in the Entertainment Industry

Hollywood and the entertainment industry is a billion dollar industry that provides entertainment to all of America and the whole world. The industry has had a long tradition of creating superstars, usually men. Hollywood was founded in 1887, and gained popularity in the 1910-early 1920s. Men have been praised since the beginning and have been made into idealized characters, and have gotten much praise. Men, particularly white men were the only people that were able to book roles for many years in the industry, and women have long been criticized for the roles they played and often were never able to get roles. They have been criticized on and off the screen, as well as in the real and professional world. Hollywood has been criticized for its women having to have faced challenges and their talent and professionalism. Actresses have been judged for their appearance, wardrobe, skin, and have been forced to cater to male audiences and appear in the male gaze. They have been forced into these superficial standards rather than be able to showcase their character depth and talent. Women have encountered disparities in pay, they have had limited opportunities within large blockbuster movies and leadership roles, and have also been severely harassed throughout the Hollywood industry. Women have faced far more than just comments on their wardrobe and physical appearances,  but have also been subjected to extremely disrespectful and unfair treatment for many years. On set they have to endure unequal pay, harassment, and have been given no creative control or direction. Their voices are frequently silenced. I have done some research on some famous and well known actresses who have been privileged enough to speak out about these disparities. I have compiled a lot of research on particular women and how they have been treated in the movies that they have been in, and how they have had to deal with this for their whole careers. I would like to talk about the many issues that women have faced in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, how gender inequality has been a persistent issue, and how there is a great need for more respect and fair treatment that work in the industry. 

Many women in Hollywood have faced these sort of unequal treatments and harassment in the industry. Some have been brave enough to come forward and share their stories in public settings. Firstly, Patricia Arquette, most famously known for her roles in The Act, and True Romance, and currently for her role in Severance. During the 2015 Oscars, Patricia gave a speech about the severe wage inequality that many women experience in the industry. During her acceptance speech after winning an Oscar, she publicly stated that many women she knows are severely underpaid compared to their male coworkers and she urged them to fight for equality and push for more equal pay. Another incredible actress, Jennifer Lawrence, most well known for her role as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games spoke out about unequal pay as well. She discovered that she was severely underpaid compared to her male co-stars while filming the infamous movie American Hustle. She wrote a very impactful essay titled Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars? She expressed her frustration about the situation, but clapback articles labeled her “difficult” and said that she was hard to work with. In the essay Lawrence claims that she was initially upset with herself for not negotiating harder for more pay, but she soon realized that it was not her fault at all. She didn't want to come across as “difficult” or “spoiled” for asking for more money, but she was labeled as such anyways for complaining just like so many more women before her have been. She speaks about how pressure from society has forced her to stay quiet, especially regarding financial situations. She continues on to emphasize how male actors and male co-stars have never been given these labels for asking for more money for doing the same job as her. She ends her essay by calling women to push for more pay equality in Hollywood and has encouraged other actresses to be confident when asking for higher pay. 

Forbes Highest Paid Actresses

Many notable and influential women have also spoken out about not only about the unequal pay gap but also about sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. One of the most famous actresses of this generation, Reese Witherspoon, spoke out about the discrimination that women have faced, and how there are limited roles for women to play in the industry. She has been very vocal about the lack of complex and impactful roles that women are able to get. This even led her to starting her own production company. She did this so that she could create complex and deep roles for women to play. She has often felt unsafe on sets where there are hundred men cast and she has been the only woman. Having her own production company allowed her to create a safe space for her to grow as an actress. Salma Hayek, another extremely important actress of the modern age has spoken out about sexual harassment that she has faced. She revealed to exclusive sources that the infamous producer Harvey Weinstein harassed her throughout the filming of the movie Frida. He would make inappropriate and sexual comments directed towards her, and threatened to end her career if she did not oblige with his requests. Uma Thurman, infamous for her role in Pulp Fiction, spoke about dangerous working conditions that she has faced as well. In her role in Kill Bill, Thurman expressed that she was forced to take on dangerous stunts that she was not comfortable performing. This resulted in a car crash that left her injured. Her male producer pushed her so hard into doing this that she had no choice but to say no. Just like Salma Hyek, Uma Thurman also faced sexual harassment from Harvey Weinstein on the set of a movie. There are countless more stories of influential actresses that have been put in similar situations. Both unsafe working conditions and sexual harassment have been a large issue on the set of many movies. The industry is working hard every day to help end these types of situations. 

For centuries, from the time that Hollywood was invented, women have faced disparities and unfair treatment on and off the set. They have faced relentless pressure to conform to unrealistic beauty standards. They have been forced to wear revealing outfits and extreme amounts of makeup to maintain the male-driven narratives and gaze. Since the beginning of Hollywood, actresses were constantly given roles that prioritized their looks and appearance over their talent, and the complexity of their characters. Their costumes were designed to accentuate the curves in their bodies, maintaining slim waists, which is often unrealistic. Dating back to the classics, women in Hollywood have been infamous for wearing tight, form-fitting clothing, having eccentric hairstyles and having dramatic makeup with dark, sultry eye looks. These physical attributes helped to reinforce the idea that women were valued for their physical appearances over what is going on inside. It made them feel as though their value was rooted in how appealing they appear. The studios forced these physical standards onto actresses, and gave them little say in how they were represented on the screen. They were not ever able to speak up if they did not like their costumes or makeup, and did not get to change uncomfortable dialogue. Furthermore than just the physical limitations that the actresses faced, they were often subjected to degrading and disrespectful treatment on set. Directors, producers, and male co-stars constantly objectified them and made them feel less than. A very iconic and infamous example of this is the way Marilyn Monroe was treated and portrayed, which I will get into later on in this blog post. The classic women of Hollywood were sexualized for their entire careers, where male producers often shaped the way the public viewed them in order to gain higher engagement. These male producers shaped every aspect of their lives to create what we now know as “bombshells” or “it girls”. The idea of an “it girl” is a very toxic culture that has been forced upon young women, creating unrealistic standards. The bombshell stereotype also limited the roles that these women were able to play, because they were never viewed as serious or complex. Behind the scenes, women have had to endure harassment, exploitation, and limited creative control. This has hindered their influence in the industry, and has not allowed them to achieve as high of standards that male actors have. This type of treatment has not only been prevalent in the classic age of Hollywood, but has persisted into the modern age as well. Many actresses have come out about these disparities, how they have been pressured to wear revealing costumes and maintain unrealistic beauty standards to secure roles. The constant dialogue about these issues has opened a gateway for change. I want to highlight a few of the women who have been brave enough to speak up about this in the modern age, and also some of the most infamous women who have had to endure this in the past. The pressure to conform to these standards has caused damaging ideals and has affected numerous women's careers and contributed to a broader culture of sexism within the industry. 

Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous and classic figures in Hollywood. First rising to fame in the 1950s right around the golden age of Hollywood, she quickly became the ideal symbol of beauty, charm, sexuality, and much more. She began her career as a model, and quickly rose to fame landing small roles in films. She starred in movies titled, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Some Like It Hot. These movies allowed people to view her as an ideal glamorous image, but had a more sinister undertone. These movies made her the ideal sexual symbol of the 50s and opened the floodgates for her exploitation and mistreatment. Monroe faced constant sexual harassment throughout her career on and off the set. Marilyn Monroe was one of the first female actresses to experience what is known as “casting couch culture”. This is when powerful men in the industry such as producers and executives pressure females in the industry into sexual favors in order for them to help advance their career. Monroe revealed that she was constantly coerced into these actions and manipulated by powerful industry figures. They took advantage of her because she was so new in the industry and was so young and beautiful. After Marilyn made it big in the industry, and was one of the most influential figures in America, she was still controlled by producing companies and studios. The capitalized on her “sex appeal” and constantly cast her in roles that diminished her self worth. She was known in the industry as the “dumb blonde”, and was reduced to a stereotype that was hard to break out of. She was a very ambitious young woman and spoke about wanting to take on more serious roles. She fought to break away from this image that the men had created for her, but was forced into her box, and was refused when wanting to be taken seriously. She was solely a marketable sex symbol to these power hungry men. On top of the type of treatment that Marilyn Monroe received at work, she also had struggles away from the silver screen. Her mental health severely struggles due to the pressures from the outside world, but due to the climate of America at this time, mental health was often overlooked. Pressures from things like maintaining her image and looking perfect for the press at all times really took a toll on her. Her infamous affair with President John F. Kennedy also affected her mental health, due to it being extremely public. The press released countless articles about the affair, which overshadowed her promising career. The public was more interested in her personal life versus watching her play impactful roles on the screen. Monroe made a valiant effort to move away from the spotlight, and no longer wanted to be the sexual symbol of America, but was never able to achieve this, constantly facing discrimination and lack of respect in Hollywood. Her tragic death at the age of 36 highlighted how she was unhappy in her career, and could no longer take the pressure of the outside world. She overdosed on barbiturates, a type of drug, and her death was ruled a possible suicide. This highlights the dark side of the Hollywood and entertainment industry and how it needs to move away from these external standards. 

Marilyn Monroe

Many people know and love the Marvel superhero movies. One of the most popular and highest viewed is the Black Widow movies featuring the infamous Scarlett Johansson. Scarlet Johansson is an iconic movie star who is extremely popular amongst both male and female audiences. She is a beautiful woman that many people idealize and look up to. It is common knowledge that she is viewed positively in the male gaze. She is seen as an ideal woman that many men seek. Scarlet Johansson has spoken out about her treatment on the Marvel sets, and how she was constantly sexualized. The producers of her movies took the public's view of her and used it to their advantage to sexualize her to make the movies a bigger success. Her character, Natasha Romanoff in the Black Widow movie was extremely sexualized, and she was faced with a lot of scrutiny while on set. One of the most important things to her when on set was the costumes that they made her wear. She was always forced to wear a skintight bodysuit, which she was not comfortable with. She was also given provocative dialogue that made her feel uncomfortable. The movies emphasized her appearance and sexuality, and prioritized it over the depth and development of her character. Johansson vocalized that she felt “objectified” while on set, and felt like she was reduced to a stereotype. Her character in these high-grossing movies were merely seen as a “love interest” or eye candy, despite her role's importance to the film. This has been an ongoing issue in Hollywood, where women are mere objects in films, and there to support the lead males, even if they change the course and the plot of the movie. Johansson also spoke out about mistreatment while on set. She was often dismissed and her opinions not listened to. Her ideas and concerns were dismissed quickly, and her feelings were not validated while on set. She brought up many times to producers while on set that she felt like her character had no depth, and pushed for deeper dialogue. She was ignored and continuously seen as the “eye candy” of the movie, given her sexual lines and tight outfits. She expressed her concern for Hollywood, and her career in Hollywood, fearing that she would be viewed as a ditzy girl and never being given complex roles. She was often cast in roles where she was seen as a “silly” female and found it difficult to break free from this stereotype. She once quoted that she was placed in a “hypersexualized box” and struggled to break free from it and play more complex roles, and characters with depth. Overtime, she became more and more outspoken about wanting to play key roles in movies. Because of the power that she held, and her numerous interviews speaking about these disparities and harassment, she was able to completely change the way she was seen in the newest Black Widow movie in 2021. She was given more creative liberties like many Marvel men have had in the past. She was able to portray her character as a strong independent figure versus a sexualized stereotype. Her persistence on the matter opened the pathway for many more women in the industry to continue to fight for their beloved characters and allow them to grow into strong, complex characters. 

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

Another infamous situation in which a woman has been mistreated on set in the Hollywood world is the treatment of Judy Garland in the famous Wizard of Oz. It is well known that the Wizard of Oz is one of the most famous classic musicals of all time, and the majority of people have watched it. Judy Garland was a sixteen year old girl at the beginning of filming. Though she had smaller childhood roles, this was her first big movie in which she was the star. The movie is very magical and beautiful on the outside, but there is a darker truth to the behind the scenes of the filming and production. Judy Garland experienced horrors that only some can imagine during her time playing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She was mistreated, exploited, and sexualized at such a young age. At the ripe age of sixteen she was forced and put under an immense amount of pressure to be the ideal beauty standard, and be the ideal picture of youth in Hollywood. She was meant for all young girls to look up to her, and at such a young age this was a hard task to live up to. It began with a strict regimen and diet for her to maintain her figure. Many reports say she was forced to live on a diet of chicken broth, coffee, cigarettes, and forced to stay away from solid food. This is an extremely toxic and damaging diet to push onto a young girl, and could likely cause long term eating habits for her. She was also forced to engage in physical activities for most of the filming to again maintain her slim figure. Too much exercise on such a small and unhealthy diet caused many problems to her health. In order to make her appear even more youthful and innocent, producers of the movie made her bind her chest to make her breasts appear smaller. On top of all of these toxic aspects to filming, she was given Benzedrine tablets in order to suppress her appetite. This sparked a lifelong struggle with drug addiction which eventually led to an early death. Judy Garland struggled with addiction for years and was never able to fully recover. This was all due to the toxic set that she grew up on in such primitive years. On top of the Benzedrine pills, she was also given a combination of stimulants to make her work harder during the day, and sedatives that made her sleep through the night. This again sparked her lifelong battle with drug and cigarette addiction. The stimulants were given to her so that she could work long hours all day, and do scene after scene with little rest. The sedatives were meant to knock her out so that she could get a full night's sleep after taking the stimulants. This created a cycle where she was constantly taking pills and could not work or perform well without them. One can imagine what kind of effect this would have on a sixteen year old girl, and how it would cause problems for her in the future. Some of the side effects that the drugs gave her were random onsets of giggling fits that were uncontrollable. 

Sixteen-year-old Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz

On top of the unhealthy habits that were forced on Judy Garland at such a pivotal age, she also faced much inappropriate behavior from colleagues, producers, and her superiors that were on set. Many of the cast members made harsh and disrespectful comments about her body, and keep in mind that every single cast mate was many years older than her. The director, Victor Flemming even went as far as to slap her during a scene because of her uncontrollable giggle fit that was caused by the drugs she was being forced to take. He was attempting to get her to stop the fit but only made things worse, and made her become fearful to come to set. There were also reports of some of the Munchkin actors repeatedly pinching her and harassing her during the scenes. Judy Garland was constantly bullied and mistreated by almost all of the cast members and higher ups on set, creating an unsafe work environment for the young girl. Worst of all, Judy Garland even reported that the head of the filming studio, Louis B. Mayer groped her while on set. This not only harmed the mental health of such a young girl, but normalized the culture and harassment within the industry. Being so young, Judy Garland was not able to come forward with formal complaints, because nobody would take her seriously, and respect her. Being that the Wizard of Oz was set during the “golden age” of Hollywood, it set into place room for much more toxicity to occur while filming other important movies during this era, and even still in our day in age. Young actresses were not safe on set, and feared coming to work because of these horrible circumstances. 

Movies, the media, and especially Hollywood are inherently patriarchal, and have been since its origin. They have constantly reinforced sexist ideologies that continue to promote male dominance and shove females into subordination. Dating back to the golden age of Hollywood, women have been marginalized and made to feel small. On and off the screen, they have been used to serve the male gaze, and play supporting roles to help the development of the male characters. Hollywood, especially in its earlier days, have frequently depicted women as solely love interests, damsels in distress, or characters to serve sexual fantasies that men have. They have often not been allowed to act as fully developed individuals lacking complex depiction. Females are also underrepresented not only on the silver screen, but in the background and behind the scenes of movies. Directors, writers, and producers are predominantly male. This ensures that movies are told from the point of view of a man, and this creates a lack of diversity. The male perspectives are constantly told on the screen, and this allows society to believe the male narrative. The media portrays harmful beauty standards and hypersexualized views of women. These unrealistic standards make society believe a false narrative that has been hard to break away from. It pressures women to conform to society's unrealistic standard, causing millions of young women to suffer from mental health issues, and be forced to succumb to toxic masculinity that is so dominant in our society. It is commonly seen in the media that even when there is a strong female lead, they are often viewed from the point of view of the patriarchy. The female characters often embody the traditional masculine point of view, and obtain traits that are important to men such as having an amazing body rather than an amazing mind. These male standards that are depicted on the screen also extend beyond. As mentioned previously from the women of Hollywood, women are also mistreated behind the scenes. From being severely underpaid, exploitation, and sexual harassment, women have felt unsafe in the industry for decades. There have also been severe limitations for women of color, making them the least likely to book roles. Women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities have had the hardest time and have been the most mistreated. This is deeply ingrained in the patriarchy and because these standards have been set in place for many decades they are hard to break. In recent years, the important women of Hollywood have been working hard to change these patriarchal standards and have continued to reinforce the importance of these inequalities. 

The women of Hollywood have been facing challenges mentioned, and have long endured systematic and patriarchal mistreatment, sexual harassment, and unequal pay in the entertainment industry for decades. Casting couch culture during the golden age of Hollywood, to the modern day movement of women owned production companies, things have started to get better for women in the industry. For decades, women have been subject to exploitation, coercion, and unsafe workplace environments that have constantly prioritized male power over females. The gender pay gap has remained a constant issue. Actresses have long since earned way less than their male co-stars. Even when a female lead has just as much screen time and worked the same amount of hours as the male actor, they still do not make as much. Furthermore, women, especially women of color and from different backgrounds, have been very unsuccessful in landing leading roles. They also have not been given opportunities to direct noteworthy movies and have been given almost zero creative control when it comes to their characters. This leaves the industry almost one-hundred percent male dominated, and leaves the audience to only view things from a man's point of view. In recent years, women have been fighting to change this narrative. They have been advocating for fair wages, have challenged the patriarchal norms that have been so set in stone, and have been fighting for their voices to be heard. Different movements have begun gain traction such as the #MeToo movement. This movement has shed light on a much needed disparity. It has given women with small voices a big one. It has allowed them to feel more comfortable and confident in their roles. There has been a growth in female-led production companies, directors, and even writers. Having a female write a screenplay has allowed society to see things from a different perspective. This brings a diverse and authentic point of view into the industry. Hollywood still remains far from “fixed” in the sense that it is still male dominated, although women have been creeping into the picture a bit more. We are in a current era of change where more women have been taking on stronger roles. Women in the industry are using their voices to be heard, are no longer being dismissed and have been able to shove the film industry in a positive direction. This is an ongoing fight that is continuing to improve with each coming new movie. I hope that the industry continues to move in the right direction, and I hope to see more female dominated movies, both on the screen and behind the screen in the future. 

Sources: 

https://dmovies.org/2023/02/28/our-top-10-misogynistic-films/

https://paulieswildlife.medium.com/the-dark-age-of-cinema-toxic-feminism-2bcba33487a8

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/truth-behind-judy-garland-wizard-of-oz-experience/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/10/13/jennifer-lawrence-speaks-out-on-making-less-than-male-co-stars/