Ahead of Muslim Women’s Day 2022 on March 27, the Geena Davis Institute, Muslim Casting, and the Pillars Fund partnered to create the first-of-its-kind on-screen representation test to evaluate portrayals of Muslim women and address harmful stereotypes perpetuated by the media. This test, titled “Surviving” to Thriving: The Muslim Women On-Screen Test, was crafted in partnership with Muslim women from various backgrounds and aims to help both content creators and viewers identify problematic and harmful storylines about Muslim women. In our review of the state of representation of Muslim women, we found the following:
- One recent study of the state of Muslims on screen found that more than three-quarters (76.4%) of all Muslim characters were men.
- Muslims comprise the most racially diverse religious community in the United States, with over a quarter identifying as Black or African American, about a quarter identifying as East Asian, 19% as white, 14% as Arab or Middle Eastern, 8% as Hispanic or Latinx, and 2% as Native American.
- Despite this reality, in a study of films from four countries, 66.7% of Muslim characters on screen were Middle Eastern or Arab.
In five easy steps, the test provides a score for any film, TV episode, or series that includes a prominent Muslim woman, while giving ideas and resources for more nuanced portrayals of Muslim women. In addition to the test, the collective released an interactive site called MuslimWomensTest.com for users to test their portrayals of these women on popular content and be directed to resources when the content is in need of improvement. Finally, you can share our test on Instagram here!
Resources
Here are more resources to learn about crafting nuanced portrayals of Muslims and Muslim women:
- The Pillars Fund — The Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion
- Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity — Muslim Fact Sheet
- Institute for Social Policy and Understanding — Covering American Muslims Objectively and Creatively
To find Muslim artists:
- Muslim Casting Talent Database (https://www.muslimamericancasting.com/talent)
- Pillars Muslim Artist Database (https://artists.pillarsfund.org/)
To find Muslim writers:
- Muslim Women Writers in Film/TV is a database of Muslim women screenwriters who primarily reside in California.
- TTIE’s Crescent List is a database of Muslim TV writers.
The Muslim List, created in partnership with MPAC, Pillars Fund, and The Black List in 2021, highlights the very best unproduced scripts written by at least one Muslim writer.
