Ageism and sexism in media is not a male-only problem

Rant at the Guardian after a particularly whiny front-page piece about the rarity of over 50’s female presenters:

Sirs,

You highlight that only 18% of media presenters over 50 are female.

Over 50% of the population of the country is female – why don’t these presenters have massive viewing figures? Surely if women wanted to support this “cause” then they’d watch and be supportive in huge numbers?

The answer is, of course, that it isn’t a “cause” at all, it’s just a few gobby individuals who feel their ‘special talents’ aren’t being appreciated.

They are right, they’re not being appreciated. But they’re not being appreciated by both men AND women equally, so the issue is NOT one of sexism.

Any female presenter who thinks she’s striking a blow for equality by appearing on shows for cooking or shopping or country walks is delusional. They are reinforcing stereotypes, not breaking them.

Paul Harper