'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' Casting Call Perfectly Captures Gender Requirement Disparity

By Cindy Davis | Miscellaneous | October 28, 2015 |

By Cindy Davis | Miscellaneous | October 28, 2015 |

Want to be an extra in Guardians of the Galaxy 2? If you’re a dude, just throw on your jeans and a tee, and head over to Marvel. Are you a woman? Well, then you’re going to have to wear something a little different; something “form-fitting” so the casting goons can play a little game called, “Are You Pretty Enough?”

If that old Hollywood standard is ever going to be broken down, one of the things that needs serious change are these types of casting calls that go out with descriptions like Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams has remarked on multiple times (and won’t tolerate). Somehow, it seems part of the female requirement includes words like “beautiful” and “attractive, or “hot,” while male characters can be “quirky” and their individual qualities — “uniqueness” — appear to appreciated.

Case in point, this Guardians of the Galaxy 2 call for extras, which seeks male only “character aliens,” and beautiful/model aliens” of either gender. So, I guess nobody wants to see a unique female alien if she’s not gorgeous and in a tight skirt? Have a look at the sheet, posted by Alethea Kontis, who is understandably disappointed by the disparity in descriptions.

The character aliens — male only — can have imperfect teeth, crooked noses, and other unique features. So what, a woman can’t be a quirky, long-necked, biker alien? This is ridiculous for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that several aliens in Guardians are made over to the point that gender hardly matters.

The model aliens — girls allowed — obviously should be beautiful, and if you’re a female looking to be an extra, wear a form-fitting skirt or dress. Why don’t the guys need to wear form-fitting pants; how about a pair of running tights/leggings so we can check out their fine figures?

It’s interesting to see everyone from extras to A-listers expose the imbalanced requirements. Who knows, maybe Williams’ comments gives courage to those still trying to break into the business — to stop accepting the double standards, and to speak out when they encounter crap like this.

An aside; a new study conducted by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that female directors hire many more female crew members (writers, editors, cinematographers, producers, etc.) — more than double — their male counterparts. Another reason to get more women in the directors’ chairs!

(via The Mary Sue)

Cindy Davis, (Twitter)