I’m a game show junkie.
I’ve devoured television game shows from the time I was little, home sick from school, until now, after dinner with my roommates.
They’re quick, fun, usually educational, and appeal to my really competitive side. So it all works out nicely when I can claim victory over a Final Jeopardy answer.
But the other day I noticed something. Something I’ve never really heard anyone talk about. And I asked myself, are game shows sexist?
Why did this pop into my mind? Because I could not think of one single female game show host. Ever.
Think about it: “Family Feud,” “Hollywood Squares,” “Jeopardy!,” “Cash Cab,” “Pyramid,” “Password,” “Press Your Luck,” “The Newlywed Game,” “Love Connection,” “Minute to Win it,” “Name That Tune,” “Win Lose Or Draw,” “Concentration,” “The Singing Bee,” “The World Series of Pop Culture,” “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?,” “Trivial Pursuit,” “Supermarket Sweep,” etc, etc.
The hosts of these popular game shows that span the decades are all men (and in almost every single case except one, white).
When we think of women on game shows (contestants aside), our minds immediately go to the models. Think of “The Price is Right” models who show off cars in bikinis, the matching “Deal or No Deal” models who open briefcases, or “Wheel of Fortune”‘s Vanna White who just turns letters while her male colleague speaks.
These women aren’t part of the intellectual pieces of the show like the men are; they’re there to look pretty, show off a new blender, and not speak.
A rough Wikipedia count of United States game show hosts indicates that there have been around 230 male American game show hosts since the dawn of television, and only 23 females hosts.
The only female American host I could think of is Meredith Viera, “Today Show” co-anchor and daytime host of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” (originally hosted by Regis Philbin).
You might be saying, “Hold up! You’ve forgotten Anne Robinson, the woman who hosted the early 2000’s hit, ‘The Weakest Link!'” But wait a second. Remember this lady’s shtick? She was mean, cruel, and constantly criticizing contestants. So basically, the show’s message was if a woman is smart enough to host a trivia show, she has to be a mean bitch.
But who cares? What does this all mean? What I think is going on here is part of a bigger issue; the issue of a greater representation of men in the media. Not only do men control more of the media, but they are overwhelmingly the voice of authority and intellect.
There are several studies about news media’s lack of female voices. Most pundits and anchors are male, and most quoted sources are male.
It seems silly to pose game shows up against war reporting and political commentary, but game shows are in our living rooms every night (or in my case, afternoons too). It would be nice to hear a woman directing the shots for once, and not parading around in her bikini silently opening up briefcases.
Does this lack of female game show hosts bother you? Should it? Let me know whether you’re constantly trying to answer that Final Jeopardy question, and what you think about game show sexism.
— Kate
I agree, but have to point out that carnie wilson now hosts the newlywed game and does an awesome job of it.
Not really. But then again, I don’t have cable!
AGREED. Why do we never see men showing off the fancy new entertainment center? Gosh.
Very interesting viewpoint… I have to point out there are two black gameshow hosts now. The guy from dont forget the lyrics and Steve Harvey who now host Famliy Feud.
Regarding the Weakest Link….why does their have to be a message with everything? Maybe that’s the woman’s true personality, or at least the persona that she wants to portray on TV? We don’t know that there was any hidden meaning behind it. And it obviously isn’t true what you said about a woman having to be a bitch to be smart enough to host a trivia show, because you yourself mentioned Meredith Viera and she’s very pleasant.
Come to think of it, Anne’s attitude was the most entertaining part of the show. When that guy, whoever he was, took over the show, it wasn’t fun to watch anymore. And the whole attitude thing didn’t even come off as gender-based to me. If anything, it may have been region-based. She didn’t come off as a bitchy woman to me. More like a bitchy Brit. But when Simon acts like a bitchy Brit on American Idol, there’s no uproar, right?
@ King; thanks for the input. You’re right, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions that that absolutely was the message with Anne, but I simply find it interesting that few game shows highlight women as intelligent enough to be the host, and when they are, they have this shtick going. It’s all apart, in my view, of a bigger trend of women voices in the media that’s frightening. Women, it turns out, just simply aren’t taken as seriously as expert voices.