Christine Haughney wrote an article for The New York Times in which she referenced Professor Stacy Smith’s recent study that found female speaking roles in top-grossing films had reached its lowest point in 2012.
The article titled On Newsstands, Allure of the Film Actress Fades describes a recent trend that favors television stars and musicians over movie actresses on magazine covers. “Magazine Editors credit these changes to the improvement in the quality of television programs and the strength of musicians,” Haughney said. “These kinds of celebrities are often more approachable than their film star equivalents.”
The best-selling magazines of 2012 featured Kim Kardashian, Lauren Conrad, Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé. Haughney said these stars are more likely to open up about their struggles with weight, romance and family and they connect with fans more frequently through the weekly broadcast of their shows or daily broadcast of songs and through Twitter. Haughney also attributed the rise in the trend to gender inequality in Hollywood illuminated by Smith’s study. There are less female movie stars with big roles in films and therefore, fewer options of cover girls. Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, told Haughney, it had become so difficult to find female film stars to feature from summer blockbusters that Cosmo published an article about the problem.
