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Re: are panel games sexist?

Messages in this topic: 12 View All
bobbyshaddoe3004Jun 12, 2009

I definitely feel that sometimes not more opportunities for women are granted on panel games, especially JAM. the closest there ever was to a female dominated panel of JAM was when the show was on TV ten years ago, you had Wendy Richard, Linda Smith and Pam Ayers with Peter Jones or Wendy Richard, Linda Smith, Maria McErlane with Steve Punt. although I sometimes disagree that woman aren't competitive, because if there is more than one woman on the show, they can sometimes be very catty.

I do agree though that sometimes when they have ONE woman on the panel that very often she's there as the token female surrounded by men, as though to say they have to fill their quota for utilizing a minority or something like that.

it kinda traces back to the many and varied Kenneth Williams' tirades about not wanting women on the show. but the way he said it, it was though he was implying women are always on the show and not just that everywhere else, because if you listened to most of his tirades, he often describes women taking jobs away from hardworking men.

when I look at something at ISIHAC, the only women that were ever featured on the program were Jo Kendall, Denise Coffey, Linda Smith and Sandi Toksvig, and of course the ever silent and ever youthful scorer Samantha.

also sometimes I feel that women are treated in a very condescending manner on most panel games, which usually results in the chairman shamelessly flirting with that individual or showing favoritism towards the female or females in question, with the chairman saying things like 'darling', 'my love' and so on.

--- On Tue, 6/9/09, Dean Bedford <dbedford@...> wrote:

From: Dean Bedford <dbedford@...>
Subject: [just-a-minute] are panel games sexist?
To: just-a-minute@...
Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 3:39 PM

Yes says Victoria Wood and although she is talking about TV panel games,
clearly women haven't had a great run on JAM...

TV panel shows are too 'male dominated', claims Victoria Wood

Panel shows such as 'I'm Sorry I haven't got a clue' and 'Have I Got
News For You?' are too "male dominated" according to the comedienne
Victoria Wood.

Wood, one of Britain's most respected comedy writers, has become the
latest television personality to criticise the laddish culture of
"testosterone- fuelled" comedy panel shows like 'Never Mind the
Buzzcocks' and the 'Mock the Week'.

"A lot of panel programmes are very male-dominated, because they rely on
men topping each other, or sparring with each other, which is not
generally a very female thing," she told the Radio Times.

She added: "I felt I held my own".

The double BAFTA winning comedienne will appear in the 51st series of
the radio programme, I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue, the first show go on
air without Humphrey Lyttelton, who died in April last year, aged 86.

In his role as chairman for 35 years, he gave the panel of four
comedians "silly things to do" in what was billed as "the antidote to
panel games".

Wood, 56, will make her debut appearance on the show with veteran
panellists Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden in a
recording chaired by Stephen Fry, who is currently 'hot-desking' the
role with Jack Dee and Rob Brydon.

Wood, the creator of Housewife 49 and Dinnerladies, has become the
latest television personality to criticise the laddish culture of TV
comedy.

Sandi Toksvig, who hosts The News Quiz on Radio 4, has also said that
female panellists were often edited out of the final cut.

Toksvig said last year: "Testosterone- fuelled arguments between the boys
make it difficult. Women's jokes aren't about trying to top the last
person or 'win' the game," she said "I think that if more women were in
charge, everyone would get a look in."

Bill Matthews, the co-creator of Never Mind the Buzzcocks agreed that
panel shows were male-dominated "bear pits" which were "too competitive
and testosterone heavy".

Last year, Mariella Frostrup accused Have I Got News For You of being
sexist towards female guests.

Describing the panel game as a "disgrace", she said that women were
invited to appear only as a token presence to be ridiculed by the
"testosterone- driven" team captains, Ian Hislop and Paul Merton.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "There are far fewer female comedians than male
so despite wanting to feature more women on our panel shows we often
can't. We are working to address this issue though and many women have
featured on our shows recently or will be featured in upcoming series
including Would I like to you, Shooting stars and QI.

Victoria Wood will appear as a panelist on the first 2 episodes of the
new series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue starting on the 15th June 2009

So what do we think - is the problem that the men spend too much time
bickering with each other and Nicholas - and that's just not womanly?

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