The Alliance of Women Film Journalists president, Jennifer Merin put together a piece for the Women's Media Center expanding on the research by Dr. Martha Lauzen of San Diego State U on how few female film critics there are.
Here's the point I found most relevant:
The deeply entrenched disparity between the number of women who go to movies and the number of women who write about them rankles female film critics. But the issues extend far beyond a relatively small group of media professionals to directly affect moviegoers—especially women. Many, if not most, women look to mainstream media outlets for information, and it stands to reason that they'd find the perspective of perceptive, well-informed professional female critics useful. The relative paucity of female voices in film criticism is a manifestation of an industry that favors male-made, male-oriented movies despite the fact that women are avid moviegoers.Everyone recognizes that for better or for worse, the blogosophere is the place where these conversations will be taking place in the future. It is imperative that we get more female film bloggers writing about films. Just like there are very few female film critics at papers, women film bloggers are still a minority, especially if you dedicate yourself to writing about women.
Alliance of Women Film Journalists
