As far as television presenters go Karl Stefanovic is as visible as they come. As the co-host of Channel 9’s breakfast program The Today Show he fronts up for a minimum of three hours of live television five days a week. And for the past year he has been wearing the same navy suit for every single appearance. And no one noticed.
What began as a three day experiment to see if anyone complained became a year-long exercise in uncovering the double standards men and women are subject to in television. Stefanovic told Fairfax Media that after hearing the constant feedback and criticism his female co-stars received about their appearance he decided to do some private research.
“I’ve worn the same suit on air for a year – except for a couple of times because of circumstance – to make a point,” he said. “I’m judged on my interviews, my appalling sense of humour – on how I do my job, basically. Whereas women are quite often judged on what they’re wearing or how their hair is … that’s [what I wanted to test].”
The results of his test were persuasive: not a single viewer complained or noticed.
“But women, they wear the wrong colour and they get pulled up. They say the wrong thing and there’s thousands of tweets written about them. Women are judged much more harshly and keenly for what they do, what they say and what they wear.”
Stefanovic’s experiment has garnered considerable attention, firstly here in Australia, but also further afield. The BBC and Jezebel are among the global media outlets to have picked it up.
There is no denying it’s an illuminating story – it quite clearly demonstrates the double standards men and women in the media face. The fact it was undertaken by a dominant media player makes it all the more powerful. As commentator Van Baddham tweeted there is power in Stefanovic recognising his own privilege.
But there is a flipside to the obvious double standard here and the lines are a little blurred. How much of the focus on women’s fashion and appearance is dictated by personal choice and how much of that is dictated by society’s standards? I’d argue it’s a complex web.
Channel 9, like the other commercial television stations, has social media channels dedicated to what their female stars are wearing. The sartorial choices of the male stars rarely, if ever, feature. That doesn’t render Stefanovic’s experiment redundant but it gives it context.
And I contribute to that context because, like many other women, I enjoy fashion. Is that because I have been quietly indoctrinated to believe my female worthiness is inextricably tied up in my appearance? Perhaps in part yes. That subliminal message is hard to avoid and has almost certainly played some part in my understanding and appreciation of fashion.
Nevertheless, I genuinely enjoy clothes. Do they define me? No. Do they dictate whether I am good at my job? No. But do I want to wear the same outfit every day for a year? Honestly? I don’t. It’s not to say that other women wouldn’t want that, in the same way I’d argue some men would bristle at the thought of being limited to the same clothes day in day out.
To me, that is where the lines of Stefanovic’s experiment blur. It is a travesty that any one – male or female – be wholly defined by their exterior appearance, particularly in a professional sense. The mark of Lisa Wilkinson’s professionalism does not lie with any particular designer or dress; it lies in her ability.
That is not emphasized or recognised nearly enough. A woman’s worth is still so tightly connected with her physical appearance and that’s worth resisting and rallying against.
But, equally, when women do pay attention to what they wear it is inevitable that will create some focus. Unless female presenters want to shun fashion altogether and wear the same thing day in day out, it’s disingenuous to expect otherwise.
There is a degree of personal choice at play and whilst some of that personal choice is dictated by the world in which that choice is made, it is a choice. So what’s the answer? I’m not sure. But I’m quite certain it’s not as simple as everyone simply wearing the same clothes day in, day out.
What do you think of Karl’s experiment?