Lack of diversity in t.v. hosts

The lack of diversity in T. V. hosts is common in the television universe. Yet, why is this? There are many controversial reasons, such as it being a coincidence or if a specific gender appeals to a certain demographic/audience. With T. V. hosts, this also applies to the lack of women writers behind the scenes. Caroline Framke’s article, “ TV’s diversity problems go far beyond Stephen Colbert — and any single late-night host”, discusses the topic. With this statement in mind, this says that America isn’t ready to move forward into a modern society where everyone is equal. It’s also important to have diversity in media because it can be relatable to audiences.

In Late Night shows, there is an obvious gender that seems to be favored in these hosts, which are males. There is a constant pattern of male dominance in the television world and there seems to be no immediate significant change towards that. Caroline Framke’s article states, “ As Vanity Fair’s recent feature made startlingly clear, all these changes have taken the form of men passing the torch to other men.” However, few women are starting to rise to the occasion, such as Samantha Bee, a female comedian. In contrast to the men in the business, Bee plans to break the stereotype and create a new history for gender biased shows. Framke says, “ Samantha Bee will break up this all-male club in 2016 with her own late-night show for TBS … women comedians like Amy Schumer and Melissa McCarthy are landing prominent roles.” Even though women are making it up the tower, it will still take a while before they can reach to the top.

As well as hosts, there is a lack of gender diversity in the writing room. It has been a male-dominated writing system for many decades, so having women try to break that streak is seen to be difficult. Framke’s article states, “ Fewer women might know about these jobs in the first place because of the existing, largely male networks. A new study from the Center for the Study of Women in Film and Television reveals that men are, in fact, more likely to hire other men.” However, there is also the argument that humor comes in a variety of ways that that people hire who they think is funny enough to become part of a huge network that needs to meet certain standards. As stated in the article, “ The defensive logic goes along the lines of, ‘ We would love to have more [women and minority writers], but they just don’t apply as much as [white men], and anyway, we just hire who makes us laugh.’“ There really is no right or wrong depending on who’s in charge because it’s a matter of bringing in views and numbers. Even behind the screen of shows, there is gender bias.

Due to the dearth of T. V. hosts of different genders, it pulls to the idea that America doesn’t promote gender equality. Though the statement is mostly untrue for America in general, it does correlate with the media standpoint. As mentioned before, women are not always picked first in the field, but some are proving the world wrong, like Samantha Bee with her new show “ Full Frontal” on TBS. Diversity is an important factor in any situation because it shows how the world has progressed or changed in a positive way. Back in the early 1900s, women weren’t seen as equal beings to men. Women were expected to work around the house, take care of the children, or be a slave towards men. Women couldn’t fight in the military because it was something that wasn’t made for females, but now, women are allowed to fight for their country, work in the highest degree, or do something that makes them happy. Comparing this change to the lack of progression in the television world shows a huge difference. Genders in T. V. hosts and writers can change or stay, but it can’t start without a push from people who care enough to bring up the matter.

The dearth of T. V. hosts and writers, in terms of gender, becomes an unfathomable situation. Sometimes, it’s just by chance or it’s by favor of which gender can bring in the most views. Even though it seems impossible, considering that we all live in the 21st century, there’s a reason why this is almost never addressed to the public. The short coming of women in the business gives people, who live in other countries, a sense of what America is like in that particular section. In order to prove them wrong, it’s important that there needs to be more diversity. The question is who will be the one to change history?