John Oliver
Stephen Colbert
John Stewart
Jimmy Fallon
Seth Meyers
Conan O’brien
Johnny Carson
Jay Leno
David Letterman
Lester Holt
Brian Williams
You probably recognize these names, if not all, at least one. If you’re not familiar with these names, they each belong to the host of a late night show and each belong to a man. In a world of changing times and progressive movements, most would be surprised to learn that in one of the most progressive fields of work, there is a severe lack of attention given to women.
As it turns out, very few women have been successful on late night talk shows and naturally, curiosity poses the question as to why most popular late night shows are centered around a male host. The only three late night shows easily found with a female host are The Late Show with Joan Rivers, The Mo’Nique Show, and The Wanda Sykes Show – all which lasted three years or less, and to be honest, I’d only ever heard of one.
While it’d be easy to point fingers at the shows themselves, maybe the fingers should be pointed back towards the viewers, after all, the show is going to do whatever gets the highest ratings, and apparently that’s having men as hosts. According to sociology.org, “the cultural idealized form of masculine character . . . embodies . . . competitiveness, determination, self-sufficiency, the celebration of exemplars, success and the subordination of women.” This is a bit extreme for the discussion of late night show hosts, however, it seems that the sociology of the viewers in the United States control exactly what they want to view. If it is engrained into society (even if it’s just subconsciously) that women are subordinate, much more than television shows will be affected.
As a matter of fact, much more has been affected. In every area of life, subtleties of gender bias are shown. Most high school dress codes don’t allow girls to show their shoulders, the phrase “boys will be boys” is used way too often, sexual harassment on college campuses is too prevalent, equal pay between the sexes has yet to happen, the list could go on. Furthermore, a recent Washington Post study suggests that whichever field men are able to join after education is perceived as innate brilliance, while women acquiring a degree and joining the workforce are viewed as having to put in time and hard work.
There is no easy solution for gender bias against women or men. The only way to overcome this obstacle is to start seeing ourselves as equally deserving with the intention of this outlook emerging in our society. After all, while there are some amazing and talented men in this world, there are and have been just as talented women who deserve to be looked up to. A few of those women being, Benazir Bhutto, Florence Nightingale, Kathryn Bigelow, Millicent Fawcett, and Marie Curie.
“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt