It was a pleasure to talk representation, tradwives, progress and more with Caroline Heldman earlier this month. I hope you get a chance to listen this timely episode. We discuss AI’sconnection to porn and today’s college students. Caroline provides insight into the state of representation in media – television, film, advertising and news.

Dr. Heldman is the Department Chair, Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles. And wow, did she conduct a class! She specializes in the presidency, media, gender, and race in the American context, and has written articles for top journals in her field. Of note, her book The Presidential Gender Penalty: From Victoria Woodhull to Kamala Harris will be published in 2027.

Actually, Caroline and I have similar backgrounds, having served as congressional staffers, and managed and consulted to campaigns. Beyond politics and teaching the power of media, Caroline contributes to projects that benefit the environment, disasters recovery, and victims of assault. Quite a full plate!

Caroline has worked with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media for more than a decade. As part of Geena’s team, she advanced the understanding of the impact of representation. “The Scully Effect” was the measurable increase in young women’s interest in STEM related fields. That uptick occurred in the years when The X-Files originally aired. We discussed other series of the last 20 years that are noteworthy for more accurately representing society. Shout out to the series that increased the visibility of gender, skin color, size and differing physical ability.

Press play below or view our video call on YouTube and let me know what you think!