Do films need a F rating?

Hollywood, and the media industry in general, has always been male dominated. There has been a lot of talk in the media this week about institutional racism within the Oscars and the lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity. Whilst I agree that there should be more ethnic minorities on our screens, I think first we need to continue to address the issue of the gender gap, which the Academy have decided to tackle following criticism from the industry and  #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter. 

Last month I gave Y10 a task to research the Bechdel test so they could understand the importance of gender representation. The Bechdel test outlines only three rules a film must follow in order for it to pass:

1. It has to have at least two (named) women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

Simple. That should be all films, right? If only. An easy and effective way to show the lack of gender equality in the film industry. 

Women have now had the right to vote in the UK for 98 years, (for the over 30s, 88 years for over 21s) so why is there still such a lack of diversity in film and other industries? 

Do films need a F rating? Clearly they do if it made the industry more transparent and address the issue of the lack of female representation. It would also make audiences more aware of it and hopefully question why this is the case. Would we then demand that the film industry make more films with substantial female roles or films made by women? Are the stories of men really more interesting or are they just more bankable? 

In a world where the amount of men and women is almost equal (ever so slightly more men), we need to think about our media consumption, how it affects our thinking and the way in which society conducts itself. 

Can F-rated films help overcome sexism in Hollywood?