September 15, 2015

"I'm glad Vanity Fair published that all-dude late night photo. For many, seeing is believing."

"That's the reality. It looks bad, as it should."

"While not Vanity Fair’s problem, the choice to celebrate late-night television as better than ever, given that the lineup is still a year away from a woman’s inclusion into the boys club (Both Samantha Bee and Chelsea Handler are set to host late-night shows of their own in 2016.) is irksome. But beyond that, there are creative choices in the photo itself that are deeply suspect. Having the [10] hosts sit around in their suits and drink, given the exclusivity of the late-night club, channels a Don Draper-like essence of casual misogyny, in which the only thing that’s missing is a 'no girls allowed' sign on the door."

37 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Shorter Feminist:

That's Not Funny!

tim maguire said...

If women were funny, this wouldn't be a problem. Whatta ya gonna do?

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

There are TEN late-night TV hosts? Thought that would be the size of the audience.

Anonymous said...

Let the market speak. Perhaps one of the networks will put a woman on and if she ranks higher than say 7, perhaps a second will try a woman.

Tarrou said...

I find this problematic in the intersectional multi-ethnic diversity of my structural approach to broadening the conversation that inhabits black bodies.

Robert Cook said...

Who watches all these talk shows? How many times can one sit through unfunny and uninteresting canned interviews with actors and lower level celebtrites promoting their latest "projects"?

David Begley said...

Total average nightly audience?

Brando said...

Considering it is such a dying medium, the fight over this is a lot like complaining in 1910 about the lack of female stagecoach drivers.

Talented people will find a way to reach an audience, either on the broadcast networks or otherwise. Pressuring and shaming network bigwigs into "diversifying" their talent is pointless. They follow the money, and if the money is good that is what they'll do.

damikesc said...

Gee, why DON'T young women identify with feminism? They seem like such a serious and not-at-all batshit crazy lot.

Hell, wait until Chelsea, a profoundly unfunny woman, sucks in her position.

traditionalguy said...

Half of the audience is female and this is still the result. Obviously women would rather watch a talented man than a woman.

If Chelsea Handler gets a loyal following it will probably be men.

God's creation of men and women as different must be made illegal. That will show God who is boss of creation.

kimsch said...

Ninety percent White dudes as well.

Dear Feminists: This photo really wasn't staged as a misogynistic paean to the "boy's club." There was no "No Girls Allowed" sign. You only think there was.

Curious George said...

And daytime TV is dominated by wimmens. Where's that photo?

CWJ said...

People are talking about it. Vanity Fair wins.

bleh said...

Some women won't be satisfied until they can pee comfortably standing up, or alternatively that urinals be removed from men's restrooms.

MayBee said...

Curious George is right.

Now here's the next question: would people buy a Vanity Fair with Kelly, Joy, Whoopi, Sharon Osborne, Julie Chen (Moonves) and the other women of daytime talk on the cover?
Is Daytime glamorous enough for VF readers?

Unknown said...

I think the question should be why there are so many foreigners on our late night shows. I can hardly watch for more than a couple minutes before I am annoyed with the accents!

Bay Area Guy said...

30 years ago Joan Rivers wasn't a bad stand-in for Johnny Carson. But, well, can we talk? Modern women just aren't funny. That's why they don't have late night talk shows.

Now, truth be told, the photo is mostly Beta Males, so I'm not trumpeting a smashing victory in the unending battle of the sexes.

I would like to see a similar photo, but with the top NFL Quarterbacks. That would smell like victory!

Todd said...

Is this really a hill to die on? That there are no late-night women show hosts? Talk about your first world problems!

Say, here is a possible answer, and I will give it away for free, no strings attached!

Why don't a bunch of you women all get together, pool your money, buy a tv station, write, produce and air your own shows? You could call it something like (let's say) "LifeTime" or "O Network" or something like that. Then you could put on whatever shows you want, to include late night women hosted shows. That is unless there is no market for such a thing, in which case you might just loose a lot of money but at least it will be your money.

Why not put on your "big girl" pants and DO something about your perceived problem instead of wining about it? Why not solve it yourself instead of pressuring others (like men) to solve it for you? Too much like work?

BN said...

There would be a lot more late night talk show host women if they dressed only in their underwear. But, of course, turn off the sound.

MAJMike said...

Meh. BFD! I read books, I don't watch late night LibCong jesters.

Levi Starks said...

Men are having fun, therefore by extension, women must be suffering.

Known Unknown said...

I'm sorry.

I'm done.

I no longer identify as a human.

I am going to go away.

I don't know where yet.

sean said...

As my mother used to say, there's an off button on the machine, if you don't like what you're seeing.

Kelly said...

When I'm driving I listen to a lot of Comedy Central and Blue Collar/Comedy Roundup radio. Almost always I change the channel when a clip of a female comic comes on. They're either vulgar or tell long winded stories. There are a few exceptions like older Ellen DeGeneres routines, but not many. It seems females do better at scripted comedy.

mccullough said...

They are beta males for the most part. Burt Reynolds hosting the Tonight Show in Carson's absence was an alpha male with e cells t beta male skills. Instead of pointing out the late night hosts are all men, point out what kind of men are they and why are these kinds of men late night hosts.

Freeman Hunt said...

This is only evidence of female superiority.

Roughcoat said...

Paula Poundstone is very, very funny. Maybe because she has sort of a male sense of humor (wink wink).

If Kate Upton hosts a late night talk show in her lingerie I'll probably watch it.

MadisonMan said...

This is only evidence of female superiority.

Isn't everything? :) That's what the wife says.

Brando said...

I think the people pointing out that "women aren't funny" are wrong but also missing the point--a talk show host doesn't even need to be funny, just entertaining and particularly entertaining when it comes to their guests. Carson had an ability to make dull guests interesting, and while I always found Conan very funny he did have a problem hamming it up in front of the guests so you didn't really get enough of the guests.

Some female comedians are very funny, but whether they can do the talk show hosting successfully is a separate issue. Clearly they dominate daytime talk and most Judge shows (Judge Judy being the best of the bunch). Maybe one of them can make the leap to nighttime.

Unknown said...

Late night TV sucks. I'd trade the whole bunch for Johnny Carson. Carson reruns are about to enter syndication for the first time and it'll be interesting to see how the ratings match up.

JAORE said...

Late night TV, like most media, is generally identified as leaning left. MSNBC is identified as leaning (heavily) left, politicians like Howard Dean can easily be identified as being on the left side of the political spectrum. The Democrat Party created rules to force diversity in their delegates a few years back because.... well, you know.

Yet each has been shown to have (or to have had) massive gaps in racial make up. [And, oh Gawd, to add Al Sharpton as a solution for MSNBC.]

Their employee selections are their own and they shall reap the fruit of their choices. So they do not bother me. But then I don't have that knee-jerk insistence that we make everything "look more like America".

Qwinn said...

It's not that men are funny and women aren't. It's that leftist ideology destroys any sense of humor. Leftist male comedians aren't funny either (and that includes most of the late night hosts). The only genuinely funny ones were either conservative or apolitical (Carson, Leno). Since no conservative woman will ever be allowed to succeed in Hollywood (because vagina treason!), there will never be a funny female late night hostess.

damikesc said...

Paula Poundstone is very, very funny.

She can be (Ellen had genius stand-up, mind you) but she seemed to need an audience to play off of, which late night doesn't give you really.

Anonymous said...

I don't give one shit about late night TV (or daytime TV). What little I see is usually via youtube clip.

Nevertheless, I enjoy reading the comments on this kind of thread and calculating who the biggest assholes must be in real life. It makes me feel superior in that caffeinated way.

Laslo Spatula said...

Chicks are at their funniest telling stories about childbirth,

But: Can't talk about childbirth.

Unless the abortion jokes are really, really funny.

:Look! That's an arm from my abortion!"

"Uh, no. That's just a leg. His head and arms are still inside of you. Squirming."

"So he has little arms, and a head?"

"Yeah."

"But if you kill him he never existed?"

"Yep."

"Can I keep listening to my iPhone?"


I am Laslo.


WA-mom said...

There is a woman host of Late Night: Joanne Nosuchinsky on Red Eye, which is a real option for people who live on the West Coast. The 3am eastern time may be why Tom Shillue, Andy Levy and Joanne N are not included in Vanity Fair's photo.

CarolMR said...

Joanne Nosuchinsky does not host Red Eye. She is a permanent panelist. Tom Shillue is the host.