Is Tinker Bell too sexy?

Is she prone to fits of jealousy?

Is the little pixie unassertive?

A recent study shows that the film industry is still stuck on portraying females as eye candy and that women continue to be depicted in negative images and stereotypes.

The study, commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, also found that women are vastly underrepresented in films, with a ratio of 2.42 males to every one female -- a trend that has not changed significantly in 20 years. The study looked at 122 films from 2006 through 2009 that are rated G, PG and PG-13.

"Our latest research shocked us," wrote Davis in "Gender Disparity On Screen and Behind the Camera in Family Films," a report by Stacy Smith and Marc Choueiti at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The Geena Davis Institute was founded by the Academy Award-winning actress in 2004 to improve images of girls in television and films.

"Zero progress has been made in what is specifically aimed at kids. What children see affects their attitudes toward male and female roles in society. And, as they watch the same shows and movies repeatedly, negative stereotypes are imprinted over and over again," she wrote.

Of the 5,554 speaking characters studied, 71 percent were male and only 29 percent female. In addition, a higher percentage of females than males are depicted in sexualized attire (24 percent versus 4 percent) and as physically attractive (14 percent versus 3.6 percent).

They are also often portrayed as younger than their male counterparts, reinforcing the idea that youthfulness, beauty and a sexy demeanor are more important for females than for males.

Madeline Di Nonno, the institute's executive director, did not provide specific examples of films and did not indicate which of the films studied contain stereotypical female behavior. She said the study is not intended to point fingers, but rather, create awareness about the gender stereotypes and discrepancies among the Hollywood community.

Disney's Tinker Bell cartoon character wasn't part of the study, but observers have long wondered if the pixie's tight-fitting skirts were too short on her hourglass figure. Now the beloved fairy from the Peter Pan stories has been reintroduced to new audiences through straight-to-DVD movies and toys aimed at tots.

"As a matter of policy, we don't advocate or criticize content," she said. "Our position to the Hollywood community is that we understand there are many business decisions influencing content, however, keep this information in mind when writing a script and if there's an opportunity to add more female characters or do something of interest other than being on the side, please do so."

Di Nonno said parents need to use critical thinking when watching films with their children.

"Parents should be their children's trusted guide and ask questions such as, 'Why do you think there are so few girls,' or 'Why are they depicting boys as being uncaring?' "

The study results come as no surprise to parents such as Robin Cornelison, mother to a 6-year-old girl, who once worked in the film industry and whose college thesis was "The Effects of TV on Children."

"Our media and our films are just so over the top," said Cornelison, 39, of Springfield. "I have friends in England who ask, 'What is going on over there?' We're able to portray this because we have the freedom to express yourself. But in the end, I don't feel it's going the right way."

Eileen Wolter, 39, of Summit, member of Mothers and More, who blogs at asuburbanstateofmom.com, said the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series of films depict a strong female character, but she is still the object of lust.

"Even the new one coming out has the sexy Penelope Cruz. It's all suggestive," she said.

Lori Pearson, lead film critic at the online review site, kids-in-mind.com, has seen a high number of animated films in which women's proportions are extremely exaggerated, almost to the point where it is distracting from whatever else might be happening on the screen, she said.

"I'm stretching a bit, but it's equating it to the Barbie dolls and fashion magazines and all these different media that attack us as women and make us feel we have to go on diets and have plastic surgery," Pearson said.

In her 18 years as a film critic, Pearson has not seen the portrayal of women change, she said, save for a few exceptions.

"Belle in 'Beauty and the Beast' is a strong female character, not the princess model kids growing up on Disney might have related to," she said. "But there's always been the eye candy effect of women in movies forever and ever."