Saturday, August 19, 2017
These Female Animators are Redrawing an Industry's Gender Lines
Los Angeles Magazine: In the 1930’s and 40’s, if an aspiring female animator wanted to work at Disney — then one of the few games in town — she would find herself relegated to the studio’s ink and paint department, where she would be limited to tracing and coloring the work of an all-male animation team. “Women,” reads one rejection letter from the time, “do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen.”
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A part of this article in particular that sticks out to me is when Ito recalls the conversation she had with producers about producing the animated TV show with a girl as the main character. It disgusts me that a producer would prioritize little boy viewers over little girl viewers. ALL PEOPLE DESERVE TO SEE THEMSELVES REPRESENTED IN ENTERTAINMENT. The animated kids shows like Steven Universe and Adventure Time are more enjoyable to watch and the story lines are so much more interesting and relatable because of the diversity within them.
I also love the perspective Lepore gives at the end of the article. I agree that it is important that women get a fair chance at having a job, but I think that women shouldn't be given jobs just because of their sex. Especially for women in the workplace, it's important that their skill match the job they've earned. I, as a woman, want to work as hard as I can and put in 130% effort because I want to earn the job and the place I get to – I want to respected for my skills and knowledge, not for being a woman working in entertainment/theatre.
The article strikes a very important point being that women make up a huge percentage in terms of actually being educated in a particular field but still remain to be making up way less of that field in the actual working environment. It just doesn't make sense for that happen. It is interesting though, that Cal arts is actually making their classes more female heavy based solely on portfolio or lack of gender knowledge. This clearly shows that those good enough to even be educated in the topic tend to be female in the first place. Clearly there is a disconnect in the hiring process where there is a gender discrimination problem. The article leaves on a good note though and it is very important that it too was brought up. I definitely agree with Katie Pyzowski and Lepore; Women should be hired for the job and their skill, not because of their gender.
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