How movies teach girls to be less ambitious

Learn how films can shape children's aspirations — and how to navigate it.

Before You Start

Goal: Explore how media representation shapes our sense of what's possible and reflect on how the stories you consumed growing up influenced your identity and ambitions.

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Discussion Questions · 20 mins
  • Write It Down · 2 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

👋 Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

🧊 Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

Name a female TV or movie character you loved growing up. What made her stand out?

💡 Key Takeaways · 5 mins

The stories we consume growing up teach us what men and women are supposed to be — and those lessons follow us into the workplace.

  • Media shapes our sense of what's possible. From childhood, the characters we see on screen teach us who gets to be a hero, a leader, or someone worth listening to.
  • The Bechdel Test reveals a persistent pattern. Many films fail the simple test of having two named women characters who talk to each other about something other than a man.
  • Representation affects ambition. Research shows that girls who see women in leadership roles — in media and in real life — are more likely to aspire to those roles themselves.
  • Media literacy is a leadership skill. Being able to name the bias in the stories we consume gives us more choice about what we absorb and what we reject.
  • We can be intentional about what we watch and share. Actively seeking out stories with complex, capable female characters — especially with children — can help change culture for the better.

💬 Discussion Questions · 20 mins

Move through the questions at the pace that suits your Circle. You don't need to cover every one — pick the prompts that resonate and let the conversation breathe.

  1. The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction has at least one scene where two named women talk to each other about something other than a man. What movies did you watch as a kid that clearly didn't pass the Test? Do you think they shaped how you saw yourself or your role in the world?
  2. Colin argues that movies often teach boys that the hero's job is to win through violence and collect the reward. How do you think that message affects girls — and women — too?
  3. Who are the female characters in film or TV right now that get it right?
  4. If there are children in your life, what are they watching? How do you feel about the gender models those stories are showing them?
  5. Have you had conversations with children in your life about gender stereotypes in the media? How did the conversations go?

✍️ Write It Down · 2 mins

Take a few minutes to connect the discussion to your own life.

Think about a story — from film, TV, or even a book — that shaped your aspirations or what you thought was possible for your life. What did it teach you, and do you still believe it?

🎯 One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Before your next meeting, watch one movie or show with a child in your life — or on your own — that passes the Bechdel Test. Have a conversation with the child, or reflect on your own, about what the movie teaches is right for men and women, boys and girls.

📅 Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan your next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between