Comment by ronjouch | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ronjouch | Hacker News Reader

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> "All male newscasters have the same hair too"

Source? Observation? On how many instances? I'd like to know too, in order to compare, but before asserting something as strong as "Stop trying to make everything a feminist issue", you have to at least reach the data bar of what you are challenging. The original article does (as often with popular reporting) a shitty job at providing references and I couldn't trace the original research paper, but assuming correct copy-pasting we at least have this from the article:

> "Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, analyzed more than 400 publicity images for local broadcast journalists and found that 95.8 percent of female anchors and reporters had smooth hair. About two-thirds had short or medium-length cuts. Nearly half of the women were blond. Zero had gray hair. Just one black woman in the UT study sample wore her natural curls."

-> What's the equivalent percentage for male newscasters?

Given the lack of context provided by the study (what commentary can you have about female beauty standards if you don't compare them, using the same methodology, to male standards?) I conclude that this study is only useful for a conversation about genderless conformity in the news room. If the author offers data on women's haircuts, in order to make the commentary you are making, they must also study men's hair.

The burden of proof is on the person making the claim that there is inequality. If the study doesn't demonstrate inequality then you can not use the study (in isolation) to prove inequality or to throw the burden of matching the statistics on the other side.

Every news anchor's appearance is carefully curated to present a safe face for the network.

Apart from the smooth/ curly hair (which might be down to the way they look on camera, with bright screens behind, and/ or the need to keep the look consistent day after day) - how the percentages you gave compare with the rest of the population? For example, most women have short or medium-length cuts. Nearly half are blonde (or dye their hair blonde). Almost all women keep dyeing their hair in their 70s. Etc. Btw, when's the last time you saw a man tv anchor with long hair? Or curly?

Talking about Turkey here; Long hair? Not sure, I remember one from early 2000s. Curly? Depends on what you count, an afro? Probably never. Naturally curly male hair shaped into something as close to 'anchor hair'? Pretty much every day.

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