Gender bias in movie posters through the lens of Spatial Agency Bias

Abstract

Research has shown that women are perceived as having less agency than men. Numerous studies have found portrayals of gender inequality in different aspects of media, including movie posters. However, no study has examined movie posters to assess portrayals of agency between genders. This study attempts to fill the literature gap by examining the top 250 grossing movie posters of all time in the US through the lens of Spatial Agency Bias to determine if there are differences in portrayed agency based on one’s gender in movie posters. The two levels of the independent variable – gender – are female and male, and the two levels of the dependent variable – spatial positioning – are left and right. A chi-squared test of independence was utilized to determine whether there were statistically significant levels of gender stereotyping in movie posters with regard to agency. The study found that women are portrayed in positions of less agency compared to men on movie posters. The implications of this study are gender inequality in various contexts through the unfavorable stereotyping of women relative to men in their perceived levels of agency. Although the causes of this discrepancy were outside the scope of this study, potential causes, implications, solutions, and future directions are discussed.