If you see old mate Karl Stefanovic out and about, buy him a beer – he’s earned it.
The Age report that, for the past year, the Today presenter has been conducting an experiment in sexism, in plain sight, without anybody being any the wiser.
Angered at the criticism leveled at his female colleagues’ fashion choices, especially those of co-host Lisa Wilkinson, he decided to wear the same blue suit for two days in a row, to see if anybody would comment.
Nobody did, so he left it go for three days, then four … a year later, he has worn the same suit every damn day, allegedly without receiving a single viewer complaint, or media critique.
In a statement to Fairfax about his stealth experiment in sexism, the ever-candid Karl raged about the double standards by which men and women are judged and evaluated in the media.
“No one has noticed; no one gives a shit,” he said of his suit. “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 … I’ve worn the same suit on air for a year – except for a couple of times because of circumstance – to make a point.”
“I’m judged on my interviews, my appalling sense of humour – on how I do my job, basically,” he continued. “Whereas women are quite often judged on what they’re wearing or how their hair is …”
These kinds of double standards go beyond TV and media personalities. From former Prime Minister Julia Gillard to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, women in politics have their outfits critiqued much more harshly than men, who vanish into the background.
As for how the suit in question has held up to a year’s worth of wear, Karl says it’s getting “a bit stanky” and is due for a visit to the dry cleaners.
Image via YouTube
