The Depiction of Female Municipal Police Officers in the First Four Decades of the Core Cop Film Genre: “It's a Man's World”

Abstract

In a first-step cultivation theory analysis, this study examined the frequency and quality of female municipal police officers depicted in either the leading or joint leading role in the first 4 decades of the core cop film genre. An examination of 112 films released between 1971 and 2011 found that only 15 films portrayed female municipal police officers in either the leading or joint leading role. Findings revealed that key barriers regularly faced by female police officers, such as sexual harassment, gender harassment, and gender discrimination, were not addressed in the films. Female municipal police officers were, however, repeatedly depicted as having had intimate relationships with senior male police officers and/or portrayed as becoming officers because of being scarred emotionally or mentally by past traumatic events. According to cultivation theory, such depictions would cultivate a perceived social reality in which females only become police officers if they are emotionally scarred and intimacy with male colleagues is the norm. This study provides insight into the potential impact the lack and quality of existing portrayals have on the recruitment, hiring, and retention of female municipal police officers.

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