Sunday, October 28, 2007

You Know You Spend Too Much Time On The Internet When ... (Part 1)

...you find yourself on the RADAR site trying to guess which of the women pictured are Fox Business News anchors and which are porn "stars"*.

The point they are trying to make is that the hiring standards for female newscasters seem to be based less on a resume bursting with relevant experience and more on looks. And since we're talking Fox News you can be sure a complete lack of understanding of business news is key to the role. You might also argue that if some of the porn "stars" aren't so wildly attractive maybe that backs up points we've all been making for years about porn being about power more than attraction.

But of course what it does highlight is that if you're a woman in the public eye, it doesn't matter if you talk about business or suck men off, you will be judged first and foremost on your appearance.

*Porn "stars"? I don't really like that term since we know that a great many such women work under duress in fear so porn "victims" seems like a more fitting term.

5 comments:

Iceman said...

"The point they are trying to make is that the hiring standards for female newscasters seem to be based less on a resume bursting with relevant experience and more on looks."

I'm sure the female bankers you used to work with could do a far better job than the Fox Business anchors.

"But of course what it does highlight is that if you're a woman in the public eye, it doesn't matter if you talk about business or suck men off, you will be judged first and foremost on your appearance."

How can we create a culture where women are respected for who they are, not for how well their looks conform to a defined standard of beauty?

You would think that a business channel that wants anyone to take it seriously would want to have knowledgeable and insightful commentators (who would be of different ages, body types, ethnic backgrounds, etc.), not gimmicks like "hot" anchorwomen. If you're a male businessperson or investor, wouldn't you prefer a channel where you might actually learn something useful to yet another place to ogle "hot" women? And did Fox Business consider whether females who are in business or finance or are interested in business/finance would want to watch a channel which seems to think women's looks are more important than their business knowledge?

Fox News has succeeded by portraying itself as the alternative to the "liberal media". I strongly disagree that the corporate-dominated US media is "liberal", but I can at least understand how some people think that. Can anyone really claim that the business press is "too liberal"? What's to the right of the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, Louis XIV?

Cruella said...

Ha ha, that's hilarious. Actually when I worked in finance it was noted on one occasion that of more than 30 women on the trading floor (less than 10% of the floor, mostly secretaries) I was the only one who wasn't blond! Although of course then I was blond for a while too. I was hired into the city by another woman, a blond one of course!

And I knew senior guys who were deliberately and openly in some cases looking to hire a female junior for the team who they found attractive. And in fairness I'm sure there are pig farmers and road sweepers who prefer to hire good looking female juniors.

The way forward is to have women doing the hiring - which is how I got into the city in the first place. Which means getting women up the ladder somehow.

Jen said...

You would think that a business channel that wants anyone to take it seriously would want to have knowledgeable and insightful commentators (who would be of different ages, body types, ethnic backgrounds, etc.), not gimmicks like "hot" anchorwomen.

Well, we are talking about Fox, i.e. fair and balanced reporting brought to you by Rupert Murdoch. Besides, their aim isn't to generously dispense insight, it's to get bums on seats watching them.

The only way you can make Fox News better is by getting rid of Fox News, and anyone else with their kind of business practices.

And by the way, I got 7/10 on the test, it's all about the collagen in the lips. Pretty empowering, that getting painful injections to your face to make your mouth look like a vagina.

Unknown said...

As my Great-Grandma used to say:
"Women lost all their power when feminist showed up. We used to have all the power through our femininity."
Why do women blame the men, when all through history, women have always tried to deceive men about what they really look like with makeup, jewelry, clothes, etc.
I have known some really sexy, unattractive women. I have also known beautiful, intelligent women.
One cannot expect respect just because...one has to earn it - unattractive or not.

Cruella said...

Oh please. Women had no power whatsoever until feminism showed up. If you don't want the vote, don't bother using it, but hands of mine and how about some respect for the women who fought so hard to get you the rights and opportunities you enjoy.

As to this notion "women have always tried to deceive men about what they really look like with makeup, jewelry, clothes, etc.". If women went round in old dungarees, unbrushed hair and no make-up (as stereotypically FEMINISTS are supposed to) we are accused of "not making enough effort". We cannot win. Thank goodness feminism is fighting that corner.

And why do we have to "earn" respect from men, what did men do to earn respect from us?