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For the first time in living memory, women appear to hold more sway than their male counterparts in the entertainment industry.
Oprah Winfrey, who earned an estimated $315m [£209m] last year, has just been named as the world's most influential personality by Forbes magazine, which this week published its annual "Celebrity 100" list, ranking stars by their ability to successfully make vast amounts of money and generate headlines and internet traffic.
Immediately behind her were the musicians Beyoncé Knowles, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, at second, fourth and sixth respectively, and Sandra Bullock who, after winning an Oscar and going through a messy divorce, is suddenly the world's most talked-about actor. Completing a historically strong showing for female performers, old and young, are Madonna, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, at 10th, 12th and 13th in the talked-about Forbes list, which is based on computer rankings of a star's ability to generate five precious commodities: money, film and TV appearances, media coverage, web traffic, and friends or followers on social networking sites.
The news suggests that women at the very top of the celebrity tree may at last be starting to gain the levels of wealth and influence they deserve. Yet, across the wider entertainment industry, it isn't yet time for feminists to start celebrating a shiny new age of equality. Behind the scenes, the worlds of film, television, music and professional sports, which – rightly or wrongly – continue to dominate Western culture are still largely lorded over by men.
In Hollywood, not a single major studio is run by a woman. Neither is a major talent agency or record label. And research from San Diego State University's Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film has revealed that just 28 per cent of all the characters portrayed in films last year were female.
A study of the directors, producers, writers and cinematographers working in the entertainment industry last year turned up a similarly depressing statistic: just 16 per cent of people credited for working below the line on the top 250 grossing films of 2009 were women.
"The sad thing is that with Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar win, this was supposed to have been a great year for women in film," says Dr Martha Lauzen, the Centre's executive director. "But in fact, the reverse is true. Only seven percent of the directors of films released last year were female. These lists can be very misleading. Whenever people want to argue that women are now equal in the entertainment industry, they will name a few very high-profile ones who are doing well. But that in no way tells you what's going on across the industry. In fact, it papers over problems."
Bizarrely, Dr Lauzen's research shows that women, particularly in older demographics, watch more television than their male counterparts. And the Motion Picture Association of America says that they buy marginally more cinema tickets too.
"Given this, women are even more dramatically under-represented," she adds. "And while you could say the same is true about other industries, we shouldn't really be treating entertainment like just another industry. Mediums like film and television are the architects of our culture."
Even the most politically correct of Hollywood organisations is vulnerable to a feminist critique. Last week, feminists accused Pixar, the computer animation studio whose Toy Story 3 is set to be one of the summer's most lucrative films, of being "carelessly sexist".
Not one of the 10 films Pixar has released in its 16-year history has boasted a main female protagonist, according to Ms. magazine, which noted sternly that: "Kids who grow up watching sexist shows are more likely to grow up internalising stereotypical ideas of what men and women are supposed to be like."
Forbes' 100 most powerful...
1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Beyonce Knowles
3. James Cameron
4. Lady Gaga
5. Tiger Woods
6. Britney Spears
7. U2
8. Sandra Bullock
9. Johnny Depp
10. Madonna
11. Simon Cowell
12. Taylor Swift
13. Miley Cyrus
14. Kobe Bryant
15. Jay-Z
16. Black Eyed Peas
17. Bruce Springsteen
18. Angelina Jolie
19. Rush Limbaugh
20. Michael Jordan
21. Dr. Phil McGraw
22. Steven Spielberg
23. Ellen Degeneres
24. David Letterman
25. Tyler Perry
26. Jennifer Aniston
27. Pink
28. Lebron James
29. Roger Federer
30. Brad Pitt
31. Floyd Mayweather
32. Michael Bay
33. Donald Trump
34. Jay Leno
35. Coldplay
36. David Beckham
37. Jerry Seinfeld
38. AC/DC
39. Howard Stern
40. Jonas Brothers
41. Tom Hanks
42. George Lucas
43. Glenn Beck
44. Ryan Seacrest
45. Phil Mickelson
46. Ben Stiller
47. Jerry Bruckheimer
48. Cristiano Ronaldo
49. Alex Rodriguez
50. Robert Pattinson
51. Conan O'Brien
52. Shaquille O'Neal
53. James Patterson
54. Kenny Chesney
55. Manny Pacquiao
56. Tom Cruise
57. Adam Sandler
58. George Clooney
59. Stephenie Meyer
60. Cameron Diaz
61. Serena Williams
62. Rascal Flatts
63. Charlie Sheen
64. Derek Jeter
65. Lance Armstrong
66. Kristen Stewart
67. Toby Keith
68. Sean (Diddy) Combs
69. Stephen King
70. Sarah Jessica Parker
71. Leonardo DiCaprio
72. Judge Judy Sheindlin
73. Robert Downey Jr
74. Lil' Wayne
75. Reese Witherspoon
76. Keith Urban
77. Julia Roberts
78. Steve Carell
79. Meryl Streep
80. Akon
81. Maria Sharapova
82. Daniel Radcliffe
83. Venus Williams
84. Ray Romano
85. Gisele Bundchen
86. Heidi Klum
87. Drew Barrymore
88. Alec Baldwin
89. Kiefer Sutherland
90. Tina Fey
91. Kate Moss
92. Eva Longoria Parker
93. Jeff Dunham
94. George Lopez
95. Katherine Heigl
96. Danica Patrick
