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!

The most uncomfortable shoes for me would be the type of shoes my husband wears for work. Leather, lace up and very flat with a thin sole. I'd have to give myself a foot massage and do some stretching when I got home as my Achilles and soles of my feet would be giving me gip, and I'd probably have several plasters on!

Or you could just explain why it’s distracting?

Of course we are all influenced by one another. But it's called society and I don't think it's necessarily a problem.

I do have a bunion on my right foot and I've never worn big heels or uncomfortable footwear, apart from DMs which I put up with for three months bruising my legs because of fashion! It's because of biomechanics. I have flat feet, wonky hips, knock knees and one leg longer than the other. The only shoes which have really done my feet harm were very flat with not enough support- I ended up with plantar fasciitis.

Lots of women say they have made a free choice to wear these. Do you think they made that ‘choice’ in the absence of culture and patriarchy?

The one thing that annoys me are the ridiculous heels. I can't imagine that they would have walked to work in them so just for the appearance on TV. It's not comfortable, it's acutally damaging to your feet so why oh why are heels still seen as 'powerful' and feminine. urghh

Some elements of society can be good but other elements can be bad. Society that puts a lot more emphasis on women’s beauty than men’s is ultimately harmful to women.

No. I'm asking if she would prefer them to hide their female shape by wearing a burqa.

I agree OP, it's like they feel they haven't got the talent to do their job properly so they also have to take a punt on displaying other assets. I far prefer someone like Laura Kuenssberg who doesn't feel the need to do that.

yep, those are the two ways women can dress. Just those.

I would prefer society not to judge women based on men’s desires. Be that their desire for women to look ‘sexy’ or for them to cover themselves.

Who gets to decide what's sexy or appropriate? I live in the US where it can get very hot in the summer. Am I only dressing for the male gaze if I where tank tops and shorts? No, I'm dressing to be comfortable. Also, so what if I want to dress sexy and feel attractive? I worked very hard for this body and don't mind showing skin. Your standards shouldn't affect mine.

I’m 53 and classmates used to do it. Not me as I hated my body which is another rich seam of stuff to delve into I suppose.

and I was at an all girls school.

Maybe they enjoy the glamour of looking attractive. Makes them feel good. Doesnt everyone feel good in a nice outfit, good hairstyle and make up? Not every woman wants to be hairy armpitted, hairy legged and wearing a sack.
Men presenting TV shows tend to wear a sharp suit, freshly pressed shirt and a nice tie. Im sure if the men wanted to wear a glamorous dress and heels, it wouldnt be a problem 🤣🤣

What do you think women should be wearing on tv news i am not being obtuse or anything what would you find acceptable for them not to be "distracting"

Well, it started from attitudes like this.

What, that it's weird women don't dress for comfort and practicality?

YABU. Plenty of female presenters don't wear figure hugging dresses too! It's clearly not a compulsory requirement of the job!

The "beauty standard" bar for women to present primetime TV is much higher than it is for men. So much more time, energy and money is required for a woman to reach the acceptable baseline. It's exhausting to witness.

i never said you shouldn’t wear a top and shorts in hot weather or that you must rebel against society’s expectations; counter-culture have cultural expectations of its own so it is pretty much impossible to escape society/cultural influence anyway. But the point should still be recognised that it is men who decide what is appropriate and that is based on what they find sexy. And this harms the ability of women to have parity with men.

Well, I didn't say they were distracting, to be fair. From time to time I think bloody hell that's a weird dress and the woman here looks as though she's at a completely different even than the one the man is at.... but that's a bit different.

Not really the point, I guess, but Sally Nugent had a really sharp suit on the other morning that I thought looked good. The female presenters not on daytime TV don't seem to need to perform the same look, either. I don't think it's a question of wanting to tell women not to dress distractingly, but rather of interrogating the reasons why this particular aesthetic (older, greyer man in a suit/colourfully dressed and high-heeled younger woman with long glossy hair) is so widespread.

event, not even, sorry

I would have thought burqas were not that practical outside of arid, dusty areas.

They are for modesty.

No, I absolutely agree, they aren't. That's what I'm saying: the imposition of the burqa does not come from a feminist instinct to query the widespread phenomenon in which women dress less for comfort and practicality. It is a different thing.

What about when it's based on other women's jealousy and insecurities?

I mean, if a woman is worried that her husband is going to get turned on whilst eating his cornflakes, is that the fault of the man, or his wife's insecurities?

Fair enough if they really were dressing indecently, but a figure hugging dress?

All I will say is that it is vanishingly rare on the s&b board for anyone to recommend a body con dress and heels to anyone seeking fashion advice. Presenters aren’t dressing for women. They may be dressing for themselves. But I doubt it.