Geena Davis does not get enough credit for her work for gender equality in media

Geena Davis at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills
I wanted to make Geena Davis the headliner for this post because while her Thelma and Louise co-star (and co-presenter last night) Susan Sarandon is blustering and problematic, Geena does amazing work for gender equality in media, largely behind the scenes. People don’t say “oh wow Geena Davis is such an activist” because she’s boots-on-the-ground sponsoring research, meeting with media executives and running film festivals. She’s not giving bullsh-t quotes to promote herself like her buddy Sarandon. Geena started the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2004, after she noticed a lack of girls and women in children’s television shows she was watching with her daughter. She’s since worked to bring awareness to this issue and to increase representation of girls and women in television and film. She also started the Betonville Film Festival in 2015, with a focus on diversity. So she’s been working in this area for years and making a difference.

Geena was in Monique Lhuillier, in a lace and sequin gown. The fringe at the bottom seems unnecessary, right? She looks incredible though.
Geena Davis at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills

Alison Brie had on a Vassilis Zoulias sweetheart neckline gown with a huge billowing skirt with pants underneath. I adore this gown, particularly with that amazing necklace, which is by Bulgari. When Alison was being interviewed by Giuliana Rancic she said “tonight is about wearing the pants so I’m literally wearing the pants.” She also talked about supporting all victims, including those who have not publicly told their stories yet. Alison’s new husband, Dave Franco, was there with his brother, James (who won best actor for Disaster Artist). Alison was getting interviewed by Giuliana at the same time that James and Dave were being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest. They saw each other over the monitors and Dave’s face lit up when Alison came on. He was so happy to see her and it was sweet.

wenn33547301

wenn33547300

Samira Wiley rocked this Romona Keveža gown which had like a geometric inverted necklace made up of wired-together leaf-like shapes in shades of gold. I kept staring at it when she was on stage for Handmaid’s Tale, which won for Best Television Series – Drama. It’s a plain dress with built-in jewelry and I want it! Samira was there with her wife of nearly a year, Lauren Morelli.

wenn33548155

wenn33548156

photos credit: WENN and Pacific Coast News

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

27 Responses to “Geena Davis does not get enough credit for her work for gender equality in media”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Bridget says:

    Yep. Geena has been working on this for a long time. Not to mention, she’s still a stone cold fox. Loved seeing her up there last night.

    • Char says:

      Remember that show where Geena Davis played the president? We need that back now.

    • Nike says:

      The Long Kiss Goodnight is one of my favorite holiday films, along with Elf and Die Hard.

    • INeedANap says:

      She must have hired a bunch of hardcore statisticians for her Institute — the work they put out is so rigorously and thoroughly researched. It’s important work and I love that she’s put her money where her mouth is. Team Geena!

  2. L84Tea says:

    I have always been a huge fan of Geena Davis and I miss seeing her onscreen. I truly had no idea she did so much work for gender equality and for so long. I love her even more now!

  3. Jess says:

    Samira looked incredible and I loved this dress. I also like Alison’s version of the dress over pants look good. And yea, Geena does not get enough credit for her constant work – let’s all ignore Susan and focus on her.

  4. Franny Days says:

    Alison Brie was so awesome in her interview! Love how she said they call James Franco “Dave’s sibling.”

  5. Juls says:

    I LOVE Geena. I think she was going for 1920’s glam and she nailed it. Her beauty is timeless. A League of Their Own is my jam. I played baseball as a young girl and continued through college in softball, and that movie was everything. I coach my boys in baseball now. I love her even more knowing she is so involved in the trenches.

  6. lightpurple says:

    Geena just doesn’t get enough coverage period! She’s an amazing woman. She has done all this great work on gender equality based on research that she has sponsored. Plus, she is a genius and an archer.

    • Betsy says:

      She’s really a character, isn’t she? I miss her acting, but I’m glad she’s doing what she’s doing.

  7. Lucy says:

    All of the women here looked amazing. I thought Alison’s gown/pantsuit was slightly ill-fitting on the bustier, but other than that she looked lovely. Also, Dave will always be The Better Franco to me.

  8. Indiana Joanna says:

    I love Geena’s work too. She’s great in every one of her movies. She looks wonderful here. I think I’ll watch A League of their Own again for the 50th time.

  9. KBB says:

    Dave Franco has never really been on my radar, but he was so cute last night seeing Alison in the monitor. They’re adorable and I’m now a fan. I still haven’t seen Glow yet, I’m going to binge it this weekend.

  10. Lucy2 says:

    I have been following Geena’s equality work for a while, her group has a fb page and posts often. I really like her.
    Alison’s dress looks uncomfortably low.
    I love Samira!

  11. Nuzzy says:

    Come on now. Of course she’s been given credit! She’s been called difficult, shrill and demanding. What more do you want?

  12. ellieohara says:

    James Franco is the next to be outed ALLEGEDLY (along with his brother) so I’d hold the applause on their relationship for now. Not just for the underage girls, which is already public, but for James Toback style auditioning with underage girls at his fake acting school. The school which has now been shut down, quelle surprise.

  13. Jules says:

    YEEEESSSSSSSSSS GEENA!!!!! I got to see her speak at a conference in 2016 and she was phenomenal. I walked away feeling so inspired.

  14. JG says:

    Love Geena. I find myself over the years pulling up a lot of studies that were sponsored by her foundation, which is great. Anyone else remember when she dated William Hurt and Jeff Goldblum?

    I didn’t watch last night, but did Casey Affleck present any awards? I was wondering how they would handle that.

    • boredblond says:

      I remember she was married to Goldblum…they were red carpet faves back then.

    • anna222 says:

      Okay I need to go and spend two hours google image searching the Davis-Goldblum pairing and then a further four hours drinking wine and mourning the fact that it ended.

      ETA there is a photo of them in matching leather jackets I am dying

  15. Harryg says:

    She also deserves a great comeback! Love Geena.

  16. paranormalgirl says:

    Geena Davis is an amazing woman.

  17. Sparkly says:

    Love Geena Davis! I wish we saw more of her, but I really respect what she’s done with her gender institute.

  18. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch says:

    LOVE Geena. The world needs more of her. Maybe a movie with Jennifer Lawrence where they are mother-and-daughter archers? Or a team up with Viola Davis where they are best friends who end up running as opponents in a political race? Or a rebooted 9-5 where unappreciated women take down the entire sexist board of a Fortune 500 company?

  19. I Choose Me says:

    Here for Geena also and always.

  20. Pandy says:

    Love the top half of Geena’s dress. Nice to see her again and she is looking great. Not feeling the pants dress overly. I couldn’t stop staring at Samira’s dress. It was amazing as was her hair and make up.