The fault here not being with the BBC but with us out here, we humans watching the stuff:
Older women are subject to “lookism” at the BBC, even on the radio, while men are allowed to age gracefully, the broadcaster Libby Purves has said.
Purves, who presented Radio 4’s Midweek from 1983 until it was dropped in 2017, said the corporation had a problem with older women as they were under more pressure to appear attractive and youthful.
Entirely so. It being a shade indelicate to point out that the following doesn’t apply to Ms. Purves for she gained her job on her undoubted talent which is a bit of a backhanded compliment.
We folks out here do have different standards of lookism for men and women. We see it everywhere in our society, all around us. Pretty young things gain chances and opportunities that aren’t available to mere stripling youths – that first description usually applying to young women, that second to young men.
Humans do look at women in relation to their perceived fertility. Humans do look at men according to their perceived social status. Just how it works in our sexually dimorphic species. And no, it’s not just men doing the deciding, this is a species thing, not a one sex thing.
Yes, this then means that older women get held to standards that are either difficult to get to or are only really achievable by younger women. Just as young men don’t gain the opportunities that are aided by a bit of gravitas.
Shrug. This all being something that we’ll worry about when totty doesn’t gain that leg up. Because we do indeed have that goose and gander thing here. Equality of opportunity is a fine thing but it really must be measured over a lifetime. Justice for old trouts comes immediately after fair treatment of pimply lads.
Haven’t noticed myself attributing any sort of gravitas to the white haired old bastard I see in the mirror. But I must agree that I find that the hot young Ukrainians that infest my junk mail are far more attractive than Hillary for example.
Didn’t an older woman have exactly this lament in the movie “10”, at the hotel bar, just before the leading man latched onto Bo Derek?
Would Gary O’Donoghue be fronting the BBC’s Washington news if he was female?
The question is though, what is the job description here?
1 – Be really good at reading the news on the telly
2 – Attract a lot of viewers while reading the news on the telly
If the answer is (2) then we have the answer, those damn consumers prefer the wrong thing once again.
Older women tend to share the complaint that they become invisible when their physical charms fade. Actually, all that is happening is that they are being treated just like a small man with a soft voice.
It’s a bit of a shock.
Wah wah wah, give me more money!
Stop whining and get to work. Nobody wants to look at ugos and the institution that forces them too will die.