to wonder why the female co-presenter on Countdown has to dress like a stripper

[hamtastrophe]

Just that.

Is this 2013? Just utterly depressing.

You dont know what she wore to interview do you?

Her style could have developed later.

totally agree op

For such an intelligent, attractive, successful woman I think she has terrible dress sense, she could look so much better if she just got a good stylist - for 4pm in the afternoon she just looks cheap and tarty IMO

its a bit like when the weather readers dress up to the nines for breakfast weather - its just wrong

Why are posters attacking the OP for not being into fashion or being a bit Mary Whitehouse?

Jeezz it's obvious what the OP is saying why try and twist it.

Binky op things the interview was like miss world with a swim suit section.

Only with phd students applying.

She couldn't have got the job because she is a mathematician and can present at the same time, that would be unthinkable, it has be because she looks good in tight clothes.

"never seen them wearing a pink skin tight leopard skin dress at 3 o'clock in the afternoon though"

Come to Liverpool, my DD's went to Paris at 9am, with full make up (done by a beautician) and rollers in, they didn't look out of place, going through Liverpool.

Different regions/women, dress differently. Travelling around the world means that you realise the difference.

Mrs Bucket

The graduate is about an older women. I am saying where the story is not specific, there can often be an older sexy male main love interest but you don't see the same older female love interest unless like the graduate that is the bloody story. FFS!

MrsBucketxx A bit late to the party but don't you think there's a massive discrepancy between:

Feminism allows you choice, choice to wear what she wants.

and

She is allowed to wear what she likes she is young and pretty, (unlike Carol voderman who dreses like this when she is waaaayyy to old, but thats another issue)

No body issues mrsbucket, just society issues. However I'll tell you who does have 'body issues'. A large proportion of the young women growing up in our country today, who see these unrealistic, 'sexed up' versions of women at every turn in the media and think that they are somehow failing at life because their own body does not come up to scratch. I am very happy with my own body. Maybe this is because when I was a child I didn't have to put up with a constant bombardment of air brushed, hyper sexy images of womanhood.

cheese the reason I have focussed on Rachel Riley is that she is the one with the 'sexy' dress code.

Funny how both the choices for the job on count down, Carol and Rachael both wore/wear tight fitting clothes and lots of make up.

Of course it is just a co-incidence not that the TV company were looking for a bit of educated 'glamour'

gosh this is a depressing thread. OP must be Mary Whitehouse and have body issues....

Actually I am now watching on +1 and I can see why the OP posted about the whole outfit which is a bit Bet Lynch.

FWIW feminism has quite a lot to say about what you wear. But not sure this is the audience for it since this is obviously a thread for suggesting women who don't like to see other women wearing inappropriate clothing and playing to the idea that clever women are too scary in their own right must be unfashionable, prudish or jealous.

And back in the day rottentomatoes (when I were a lass) Carol didn't used to wear tight fitting clothes at all. Then as the years went by, and the lads culture became more pervasive, she lost tons of weight, started dressing more and more sexily and if I remember correctly sold her 'miracle diet' and joined in with the media circus.

I seem to recall Carol used to wear a lot of jumpers and blouses in the 80s. She glammed up as the show went along.

"if she has control of her own on screen wardrobe, why is she choosing this? What is going on in our society that makes her feel that she need to wear these outfits? Why isn't she wearing a jacket?"

She might like it, and I presume that under the studio lights there is little need for a jacket.

If she's wearing it because she's told to or because she feels she has to, then obviously that isn't right. But you don't know that is the case.

I agree with you that in general there is a message given that women must be constantly youthful and sexy, but picking out an individual case where you don't know how much input she has into her clothes, seems a bit off.

"She is an Oxford Maths graduate, yet her success is measured by a website of fans rating her dress of the day."

Read birds post again, she didn't say the success was measured by her choice of dress. She said that the presenter enjoys seeing people's reactions to her dresses on a fansite.

Yes it is very depressing drjohnsonscat.

Actually I hope she did choose that outfit because if a professional stylist chose it they should be shot.

No we don't know why she was wearing it but they have her perched on a little bar stool so she has to cross her legs and show a bit more leg while she does it. I'm sure she gets the message - you are the maths dolly bird. This is what it's like on an afternoon show for pensioners - heaven help the rest of us.

At least she had sleeves - I hate seeing these female presenters in sleeveless tops in this weather, next to men wearing normal clothes. It makes me feel cold! Hands up whose wearing a sleeveless top today? No, thought not. Only on TV.

"Hands up whose wearing a sleeveless top today? "

I am indoors. And I have heating on. It's probably far hotter under studio lights. In all honesty the women on TV in sleeveless tops are probably much more comfortable than the men in suits!

Every young woman must dress like they are gagging for it 24/7, even highly educated tv brainboxs.

Makes you wonder how far we've really come.

Pretty sure she, as an inelligent woman and Oxford graduate, is capable of deciding what she wants to wear on TV. She can leave if she isn't comfortable with any aspect of her job.

Perhaps she wants to wear these things because she's confident about how she looks? She's worn trousers before, and less revealing things. It's not like they've plucked some girl off TOWIE for the show purely because she looks good, she has brains as well.

Not all women wear things because men like it or someone told them to.

Those studios aren't usually hot - the lights are but they are often big open spaces. Can't believe you are sleeveless today - I have heating on full and two jumpers and am just about the right temp.

Actually I'm going to come out and say that I don't like sleeveless tops at work, really ever. At a pinch when it's 38 degrees (rare) but on the whole I don't like the risk of a glimpse of armpit. Not professional imho. That's mainly just a personal opinion but it's also a gender thing - men in office environments do not flash the flesh (thank god).

I think that's the point remote. She's not some girl off TOWIE but she is dressed like that. She's dressed as though her sexiness is her main deal. I actually think it's a bit embarrassing.

I don't know what she was wearing today, but whenever I have watched it she was wearing just the sort of thing I used to wear when I was early to mid twenties. As Erin Brockovitch said "While I have just the one ass..."

I thought you were only allowed on tv if you were young, good looking and dressed like a stripper. - women only of course - men can be 105.

No body issues here btw, just an issue with the media.

I agree murderofgoths that maybe my title thread was a little to personal about that individual presenter. To be clear I have no gripes about her as an individual. She is an intelligent beautiful young woman. But I despair at a society where she has more professional and monetary success because she chooses to wear what she does. If she chose to wear tweed suits and pearls she would not be anywhere near as successful and that is wrong. She is successful in large part due to the fact that she is 'a babe'. This is depressing and teaches our daughters a wholly unacceptable lesson in life.

I am particularly struck with this show, as it's something I used to watch as a girl of 12 / 13, and something that I've not seen for many many years. I happen to have seen it in passing quite often recently and have been struck by what Rachel wears each time. I have very clear memories of being impressed with Carol's maths as a youngster but having no thoughts relating to her appearance at that age. I wonder what a 12 year old girl watching Rachel would make of it all. Would her only reaction be 'Wow, that woman is really super intelligent' or more realistically would it also be 'That woman has a perfect body, that I can never aspire to and is what women are meant to look like'.

The rates of self harm, self hatred, eating disorders, depression etc in young women is sky rocketing and I think this is all part of that picture.