Bismarck C. Odei, Sofia Herrera, Christina Huang, et al<\/h3>\n\n\n\nJAMA Intern Med. <\/em>Published online August 28, 2023. doi:10.1001\/jamainternmed.2023.2913<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWomen have been underrepresented in professional roles in movies, causing concern about perpetuation of gender stereotypes.1<\/a><\/sup>-4<\/a><\/sup> We examined the portrayal of women as physicians in US movies.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nMethods<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This cross-sectional study was filed as not regulated with the University of Michigan institutional review board and followed the STROBE<\/a> reporting guideline. We searched IMDb.com for movies released between 1990 and 2020 using references of physicians in plot summaries, key words, and casting credits. Movie and physician characteristics were coded, including gender of physician-characters, writers, directors, and producers. Binary gender categories were assigned using names, corresponding photographs, and film scenes. Similarly, race and ethnicity of lead physician-characters were categorized as either White or other race and ethnicity by visual inspection. We estimated lead physician-character age using the age on IMDb.com of the actor at the time of movie release and manually reviewed the portrayed age of the physician-character. Analyses were performed between January 31 and April 3, 2023; missing data were excluded.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nTime trends were evaluated using 2-sided Cochran-Armitage test for the percentage of women physician-characters. Fisher exact and \u03c72<\/sup> tests and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with a movie depicting at least 1 woman physician-character. P<\/em>\u2009\u2264\u2009.05 was considered significant.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nResults<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1226 movies with 2295 physician-characters, 426 (18.6%) were women and 1869 (81.4%) men. The percentage of women physician-characters increased significantly per decade (134 [16.6%], 152 [18.6%], and 140 [20.8%];\u00a0P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.04). Most movies depicted physicians exclusively as men (271 [71.5%]). Movies portraying at least 1 woman physician-character ranged from 121 (27.8%) to 120 (29.1%) per decade. Movie genre, popularity, and ratings were not associated with including at least 1 woman physician-character (Table<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.jamanetwork.com\/ama\/content_public\/journal\/intemed\/939242\/ild230024t1_1695921503.71673.png?Expires=1699303425&Signature=f0rOgIWvTV9Sc8OEdtlq-SNh59Je7rjw9YaKDl9FdTcaNGOKsMNzjnIxYEnMCZtSTvWxhR-sp-KYYp97e9x3xBrlm1-a2SASnJkuXiaCXd9EXtP0TnXUozcUm0R3EpYSGu9bwGdMQCLUSEsHN8HwxO-DMVNTRc1-3Yt5jJGbjki1dAWH8m7vIxstiVhjZcDnWsUMOg4WLLhrB4bWcvtnXN1ckj5PTmIGv6qEIjhLVg0TXokDEn287hwwIouYy1dwBnmqkdKuinnu5sGr9fFjiyE8g~t-6u14a8hoZqTXkxyGxELz05ChSitqaOnS2S63e8fwdZuyvfrk~-g16HpJQg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMost movies (752 [61.3%]) depicted only 1 physician, usually male (625 [83.1%]). More movies that depicted multiple physicians had at least 1 woman physician-character (222 [46.8%] vs 127 [16.9%] with only 1 physician; P<\/em>\u2009<\u2009.001).<\/p>\n\n\n\nA physician-character was the lead in 99 movies (8.1%), with 22 being women (22.2%; median [range] age, 38 [29-51] years; 20 White [90.9%] and 2 other race and ethnicity [9.1%]) and 77 men (77.8%; median [range] age, 44 [22-73] years; 70 White [90.9%] and 7 [9.1%] other race and ethnicity). Movies with lead physician-characters were more likely to include at least 1 woman than those with physicians as less visible roles (46 [46.5%] vs 303 [26.9%]; P<\/em>\u2009<\u2009.001). On multivariable analysis, higher physician count (odds ratio [OR], 4.41; 95% CI, 3.36-5.79; P<\/em>\u2009<\u2009.001), physician as the lead (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.09-2.68; P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.02), higher proportion of women writers (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.03-2.65; P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.04), and movie rating of R vs G or PG (OR for G or PG vs R, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.34-0.99; P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.05) were associated with including at least 1 woman physician-character (Figure<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.jamanetwork.com\/ama\/content_public\/journal\/intemed\/939242\/ild230024f1_1695921503.72673.png?Expires=1699303425&Signature=W3eiGZPwDupfgBsxCMYB4aKwGctg64Y3qMlL7UD26kY-um5AClT8uQtn8KkkyoOgLaxqXFCYDpuqDvFJKOBYgNNCP2Ct8OtXmJgGMkeSldqxEpeXlpcexihsp6c6UTO3gUXHFXGT5QCTlzOoFySDFhDkr0kMgc48CwxVRWLuDWWParyJFe3rQ8i7hcarcUFPBchc9pElWCYNQ~iCKoU2lYRg7c9sz4I-7NsSKrMsn088sqKX2OKgSo8P1msweKPlL9p5IVYr2qF3SPpLsAzs2JnAoU23fTWxyPryzcrrJlpBr89b7bgNQcAorZGsU8A4Zv6btMCXE5xm05AxDbChOw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDiscussion<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 18.6% of the physician-characters in movies in this sample were women, increasing by approximately 2% per decade. Among US movies depicting physician-characters, only 28% portrayed even 1 as a woman, with no change over time. Lead physician-characters were predominantly White. Meanwhile, the number of women who are medical professionals in the US has grown considerably, with women now comprising one-half of all medical students (and >40% during the study period) and steadily higher proportions of physicians (18.8% in 1992, 30.4% in 2010, and 36.3% in 2019).5<\/a><\/sup>,6<\/a><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nLimitations include the possibility that our data set did not capture all instances of physicians depicted in movies, the binary description of gender and race, and subjectivity in assigning demographic characteristics. Given the fictional nature of characters and inability to assume concordance between actors\u2019 and characters\u2019 identities, self-identification was not possible.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nAddressing the cinematic representation of women in the physician role may be instrumental in reversing entrenched stereotypes.1<\/a><\/sup>-4<\/a><\/sup> Further research to evaluate the representation of members of specific racial and ethnic minority groups and individuals within the spectrum of diverse sexual orientation and gender identities would also be valuable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Research Letter August 28, 2023 Portray […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24636"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24768,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24636\/revisions\/24768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Women have been underrepresented in professional roles in movies, causing concern about perpetuation of gender stereotypes.1<\/a><\/sup>-4<\/a><\/sup> We examined the portrayal of women as physicians in US movies.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Methods<\/p>\n\n\n\n This cross-sectional study was filed as not regulated with the University of Michigan institutional review board and followed the STROBE<\/a> reporting guideline. We searched IMDb.com for movies released between 1990 and 2020 using references of physicians in plot summaries, key words, and casting credits. Movie and physician characteristics were coded, including gender of physician-characters, writers, directors, and producers. Binary gender categories were assigned using names, corresponding photographs, and film scenes. Similarly, race and ethnicity of lead physician-characters were categorized as either White or other race and ethnicity by visual inspection. We estimated lead physician-character age using the age on IMDb.com of the actor at the time of movie release and manually reviewed the portrayed age of the physician-character. Analyses were performed between January 31 and April 3, 2023; missing data were excluded.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Time trends were evaluated using 2-sided Cochran-Armitage test for the percentage of women physician-characters. Fisher exact and \u03c72<\/sup> tests and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with a movie depicting at least 1 woman physician-character. P<\/em>\u2009\u2264\u2009.05 was considered significant.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Results<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1226 movies with 2295 physician-characters, 426 (18.6%) were women and 1869 (81.4%) men. The percentage of women physician-characters increased significantly per decade (134 [16.6%], 152 [18.6%], and 140 [20.8%];\u00a0P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.04). Most movies depicted physicians exclusively as men (271 [71.5%]). Movies portraying at least 1 woman physician-character ranged from 121 (27.8%) to 120 (29.1%) per decade. Movie genre, popularity, and ratings were not associated with including at least 1 woman physician-character (Table<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most movies (752 [61.3%]) depicted only 1 physician, usually male (625 [83.1%]). More movies that depicted multiple physicians had at least 1 woman physician-character (222 [46.8%] vs 127 [16.9%] with only 1 physician; P<\/em>\u2009<\u2009.001).<\/p>\n\n\n\n A physician-character was the lead in 99 movies (8.1%), with 22 being women (22.2%; median [range] age, 38 [29-51] years; 20 White [90.9%] and 2 other race and ethnicity [9.1%]) and 77 men (77.8%; median [range] age, 44 [22-73] years; 70 White [90.9%] and 7 [9.1%] other race and ethnicity). Movies with lead physician-characters were more likely to include at least 1 woman than those with physicians as less visible roles (46 [46.5%] vs 303 [26.9%]; P<\/em>\u2009<\u2009.001). On multivariable analysis, higher physician count (odds ratio [OR], 4.41; 95% CI, 3.36-5.79; P<\/em>\u2009<\u2009.001), physician as the lead (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.09-2.68; P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.02), higher proportion of women writers (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.03-2.65; P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.04), and movie rating of R vs G or PG (OR for G or PG vs R, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.34-0.99; P<\/em>\u2009=\u2009.05) were associated with including at least 1 woman physician-character (Figure<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discussion<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only 18.6% of the physician-characters in movies in this sample were women, increasing by approximately 2% per decade. Among US movies depicting physician-characters, only 28% portrayed even 1 as a woman, with no change over time. Lead physician-characters were predominantly White. Meanwhile, the number of women who are medical professionals in the US has grown considerably, with women now comprising one-half of all medical students (and >40% during the study period) and steadily higher proportions of physicians (18.8% in 1992, 30.4% in 2010, and 36.3% in 2019).5<\/a><\/sup>,6<\/a><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Limitations include the possibility that our data set did not capture all instances of physicians depicted in movies, the binary description of gender and race, and subjectivity in assigning demographic characteristics. Given the fictional nature of characters and inability to assume concordance between actors\u2019 and characters\u2019 identities, self-identification was not possible.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Addressing the cinematic representation of women in the physician role may be instrumental in reversing entrenched stereotypes.1<\/a><\/sup>-4<\/a><\/sup> Further research to evaluate the representation of members of specific racial and ethnic minority groups and individuals within the spectrum of diverse sexual orientation and gender identities would also be valuable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Research Letter August 28, 2023 Portray […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24636"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24768,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24636\/revisions\/24768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csccm.org.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n