WASHINGTON — A male broadcaster in Australia decided to make a statement
about sexism. No one noticed — and that was the whole point.
Karl Stefanovic, co-host of the “Today” show on Australian TV, has had a
front-row seat for the biting comments co-host Lisa Wilkinson would receive on
her fashion choices.
“Who the heck is Lisa’s stylist? Today’s outfit is particularly jarring and
awful. Get some style,” one email said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I’m judged on my interviews, my appalling sense of humor — on how I do my
job, basically,” Stefanovic told the Herald. “Whereas women are quite often
judged on what they’re wearing or how their hair is.”
He was tired of it, and he was tired of hearing the gender aspect of the
criticism downplayed. So he decided to test whether people would pay attention
to his clothes the way they do Wilkinson’s. He wore the same suit — a navy
blue Burberry knockoff — every day (save a couple of dry-cleaning days) for a
year.
No one noticed — until he announced his experiment on Saturday. Now everyone has
noticed.
Stefanovic went a month without even telling Wilkinson he was doing it. He
changed his shirt and tie, although he wouldn’t say how often — “don’t go
there,” Stefanivic advised when Wilkinson asked.
He says the year-long test proved his point.
“Women are judged much more harshly and keenly for what they do, what they say
and what they wear.”
Unfortunately, Wilkinson added that, while most women are supportive of her
work, “When I get criticism, more often than not it’s from women.”
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