AIBU to be bothered by the way female presenters dress?

[Justwrong68]

I was just watching Good Morning Britain and it seems ridiculous that the male presenters stick to their male uniform whereas the females, particularly Susanna and Kate wear very tight, colourful dresses that really emphasise their body shapes. The contrast is stark, I don’t understand it and it’s certainly distracting!

Have you only just noticed that humans are one of the only animals where the female is colourful and flamboyant whereas the male is boring and beige?

Seems a case of male = default and correct, female = defective, incorrect 🙄

I certainly don't want to wear a suit and tie though sometimes I wear a more traditionally "masculine" look. I don't watch GMB so can't vouch for these presenters but the BBC ones look smart and comfortable to me.

I have this dress on today that is fitted but not tight, with tights and boots (with a heel) and it is a ridiculously comfortable outfit. I might do glamorous at times but I definitely don't do impractical.

And yet, you seem to think it's impossible for a woman to like wearing heels, or feel good wearing them, without it having been pushed by a man.

No further discussion to be had then?

I agree - of course they would. But I don't think the main issue is the clothing choices individual women make. We are all trying to navigate a culture that defines 'look my best' in a limited range of ways and those ways privilege the heterosexual male gaze and patriarchal assumptions about men and women. 'Best' for women often means emphasizing a feminine figure. 'Best' for men is often taken to mean a suit which hides the figure, emphasizes gravitas and status and makes shoulders and chest appear bigger, which plays into alpha male status. The few times we see men in entertainment with skin tight revealing shorts and teensy figure hugging tops we assume they are appealing to a gay male audience, but they still have access to the male power outfit whenever they choose to wear it.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong in dressing to emphasize femininity / masculinity, but we need to recognize what's going on. We've seen significant changes over the past 100 years with it becoming acceptable for women to wear suits, androgeny in clothing going in and out of fashion, adverts falling out of favour that use bikini-clad models to sell cars and legal challenges of policies that pressure women to wear heels. It's no coincidence that these mirror changes in gender roles and shifts in the dominance of straight men in society. It's good that we reflect on problematic norms that are taken for granted. But that doesn't necessarily mean being critical of the choices individual women make to navigate very complex pressures around appearance.

Lots of people like to fit in with society and conform with its standards. That is the whole point of the harms of patriarchy in imposing these standards on women!

not what I said, but not to worry.

😆

I don't think some women will be happy until all women wear a sackcloth, a big hat, and wellies. And make sure you cover that cleavage up ladies. You're a disgrace! 😆

What I don't buy is the idea that heels are a neutral, practical, or empowering choice by women, made without any insidious ideological influence about what women are and what they're for and how they might move through the world.

But that doesn't necessarily mean being critical of the choices individual women make to navigate very complex pressures around appearance.

I didn’t take any posts to be criticism of individual women, rather that of the pressure on women as exampled by the presentation of individuals.

I bet the haterz on here who think women should cover up in a big sackcloth, are the same ones who bash and berate women who shave their pubes off, insist they're doing it for da menz, and say 'why do you want to look like a pre pubescent child?' 😬

I don't do stillettos but with flat feet a heel of some kind is often more comfortable if I'm not wearing trainers. Very flat shoes with a thin sole are a no-no.

If you think that is the same as that I "seem to think it's impossible for a woman to like wearing heels, or feel good wearing them, without it having been pushed by a man" then I don't know where else to go with this.

Women who wear heels, and anything feminine or 'sexy' really don't care that you don't 'buy' their reasons for dressing like this...

The fact you have adopted society’s view of heels and enjoy fitting into those norms and expectations doesn’t mean you are not influenced by them.

And that's why I haven't started a thread telling them they shouldn't. Rather, I have engaged in a thread about what is at stake in women on TV dressing, or being dressed, the way they are.

I was quoting someone else. That's not my statement. And yes, you've just summed it up, really. I don't need to keep going round in circles trying to explain it to the poster.

YABQR.

Would you prefer them to wear burqas?

Can see why people think this.But I disagree, society has been set up so that women are forced to behave in a certain way to appease and appeal to men. Many women are still financially dependent on men. But up until not very long ago, we have been for millennia.
I had three boys and then a daughter.And it was astounding to me the difference in the way that people spoke to her about what she wore compared to my boys. From a tiny baby the way she looked.was commented on daily. That was possible before she got bombarded by the media and her peers.

What do you want the male presenters to wear - colourful suits or something?! surely its what they want to wear - maybe the issue is YOU are distracted by it.

Personally really dislike those bright bodycon dresses. But I think for tv, solid colours work better and they are maybe an easier choice for some women than trying to put an outfit together. Love when I see women wearing something interesting or different on tv. It certainly doesn't have to be a black bin bag to be taken seriously, some of those comments are ridiculous.

There is an element of physiological change that comes from wearing various shoes types that also means over time we are physically more comfortable wearing that shoe type. Again we may think we are making a free choice in choosing that shoe type but we aren’t. Sometimes the reverse is true (eg bunions) and then we are acutely aware we do not have a free choice but we don’t notice when the ‘choice’ is in line with our ‘preference’s

Hahahaha. OP would campaign for this for presenters i think 😂

I've worked in strip clubs. There were always women who couldn't believe that I was working there because I chose to work there. They always assumed that I was manipulated into it. I worked there for the money, and I've never had issues with nudity. Women were always the worst judges