Meghan Markle and Geena Davis are bringing awareness to how mothers are portrayed on television.
The Suits alum and mother of two teamed up with the legendary actress to address perceptions of women on screen in a new report. The data, shared with Us Weekly on Thursday, March 7, shows that although TV moms have become more diverse over the years, they are largely white, young and thin, and often subject to stereotypes such as being low earners in the family. The report was released by non-profit Moms First (an entity of Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Foundation) and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which pushes for change by providing Hollywood producers and film executives with details on pay disparity.
The study also showed that only 10 percent of TV parents have a messy home, with a majority of them appearing spotless (despite only 15 percent being shown cleaning). TV moms are also overwhelmingly attractive and very well put together, shown exercising consistently, wearing perfect hairstyles and a full face of makeup. Only 20 percent of TV parents with children under 11 make mention of any type of childcare.
Davis noted the results sparked inspiration to raise awareness.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in an article published after the study’s release, Davis expressed shock over how “dated” current portrayals of TV moms are.
She said, “The representation of motherhood seemed like such a throwback. It didn’t reflect modern reality anywhere near as closely as I had hoped or imagined.”
Markle also shared her motivation to get involved, saying in a statement, “My past experience as an actress, and now today as a producer and mother, have amplified my belief in the critical importance of supporting women and moms both behind the lens and in front of it.”
The Duchess of Sussex added, “This report about the portrayal of mothers in entertainment highlights the gaps we need to fill to achieve true representation in the content we create and consume, and I’m honored to support this work through the Archewell Foundation.”
Davis, who launched her initiative in 2004 after seeing the impact of films like Thelma & Louise, went on to address how onscreen characters truly affect perception in real life.
“Images have a profound impact on people’s perceptions of themselves and others, and therefore the images can be used to create good,” shared Davis, a mother of three. “I saw that children’s movies and TV made specifically for kids seemed to have a huge gender disparity…. What if we’re training kids from the beginning to have unconscious gender bias by showing boys as more important and taking up more space in the world?”
Though she hasn’t seen Markle’s performance as Rachel Zane in the USA legal drama Suits, she saluted Archewell for its role in their partnership.
“We love having her support and the support of Archewell,” Davis said of Meghan. “We can’t do it without financial support like that, and it’s obviously a subject that’s very near and dear to her heart.”
