Sure, you knew that stuntwomen constantly face potential dangers on-set. But according to a new survey, they face issues other than safety on and off the set as well, many based on being female in a male-dominated workplace.
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Long-time stuntwoman and advocate Julie Ann Johnson helped found the Stuntwoman’s Association and was on the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Stuntwoman’s Subcommittee in 1982, when the trade union conducted its first survey of those in the profession.
On her website, Johnson says she later presented a report on that survey to the Commission on the Status of Women.
Recently, Johnson conducted her own independent survey of over 100 stuntwomen and found the results haven’t shown much improvement regarding certain workplace problems these women face, according to an article on the Deadline Hollywood website.
Johnson told Deadline Hollywood that her new survey found that over 75% of the respondents said they’d been injured on the job, while nearly 40% said they’d been injured more than three times.
One-quarter of women reported they feel either unsafe or uncomfortable on the set. Two-thirds of those responding said that they have been bullied or sexually harassed on the job, and a similar number knew a fellow stuntwoman who has also experienced bullying or harassment, mostly from male superiors.
Johnson has presented the results of her survey to the executive director of SAG. The results also indicate some incidences of sexual discrimination. For example, when there is a “nondescript” role (meaning the gender of the character is not indicated, such as “pedestrian”) requiring a stunt, the job almost always goes to a stuntman.
Other questionable practices were reported by respondents, with 40% saying they have seen stuntmen dress as women to perform a stunt for female actresses. In addition, 35% reported seeing stuntmen wear body makeup to perform stunts for minority actors and actresses.
The survey, however, did reveal some improvements for women in this occupation. First, safety equipment and precautions have improved significantly since 1982. The respondents also noted that there is reduced drug and alcohol use on sets, with over one-half reporting it in 1982 and only one-third reporting drug use in the recent survey.
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