Sexism on TV and at the movies

Not many films have tackled sexism directly. In fact, mainstream movies are criticised for the way they portray women in films. Katherine Heigl criticised her own movie, Knocked Up, for the way she was asked to portray her character. "It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys."

Lynda La Plante has produced several classic detective series with strong female leads - Prime Suspect, The Governor, Trial and Retribution and Above Suspicion.

Mad Men is a drama series set in the sexist world of advertising in the 1960s. The series is intelligently written, but it is so complex and multi-faceted that it isn't immediately clear what we can learn about sexism from it.

At the movies, there are films that focus on women taking control of their destinies - two good examples are Shirley Valentine and Thelma and Louise.

Disclosure was a film about sexual harassment, but it was more about sexism against men. It has also been criticised as using sex to sell the movie, a criticism aimed at many films today.