Headless women of Hollywood- Have You Noticed this Phenomenon?

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Hollywood (4) Women (4) Feminist (2)

Stand-up comedian Marcia Belsky noticed that many movie posters feature women whose heads or faces are not visible, or who are even depicted only as pairs of disembodied legs or breasts, effectively reducing them to objects. She created the Tumblr Headless Women of Hollywood to collect such images and make a point of just how many of them are out there.

Have you noticed the headless woman phenomenon, and if so, what examples can you think of?

Only the Lonely poster, via Wikipedia. Fair use.

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#Hollywood
#Women
#Feminist

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Top Answers

I was totally aware that this was a thing, however I can't think of any posters off-hand. Hollywood has always had a sexism problem, although this issue has come more to the forefront in recent years. I don't believe Hollywood has improved it's treatment or objectification of women, I just think the industry has gotten better at hiding it. Hopefully with the current me-too movement, and so many women steeping forward to tell their stories of abuse, we will see some real change in the next few years.

by DamienR

Yes, I hope so too.

by Jennifer Muirhead

One that annoyed me was a poster for Minions, which showed the minions in the background and Gru's love interest's legs in the foreground. It's meant to be funny, but it's annoying to find this kind of thing even in advertisements for kids' movies.

by Jennifer Muirhead

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