Weather Watch: Weather Girls

Weather presenter Elita Loresca. Photo / Supplied

I see in the NZ Herald on Monday a leading feminist has said women have been set back 50 years because of the way they are portrayed in TV and advertising etc. For debates sake I'd argue that the way some of my female friends lusted over photos recently of Soccer World Cup players with their tops off or discussing the latest "male hotties" in True Blood makes me think both sides can be just as bad.

Anyway, I don't want to debate what this lady was talking about, as it holds no relevance to my blog and was mostly aimed at the "raunchy" side of females being used in the media, which isn't want I'm wanting to write about. But it did get me thinking - about female weather presenters (often referred to as "Weather Girls") on TV.

In America Fox News has become famous for hiring hot female weather presenters - and news readers for that matter too. It's a strange but hugely popular combination. Strange because the channel appeals to conservatives, often religious - and the channel is appealing because they use women who are... well....sexy.

For example, look at these well known weather presenters in America (not all Fox News).

OK...so lets take a step back. When we watch TV, do we want to watch someone who we enjoy looking at? Obviously yes. It's an unfortunate thing in some ways, as I want to watch presenters who are skilled at their job... personally, unless you have a leg growing from your head, I don't really mind what you look like. I far prefer substance over looks when it comes to presenters.

But what if you have both? Some of these weather presenters, especially Domenica Davis from Fox News who I think is, well, foxy, is also very talented and authoritative with her weather presenting.

There is one small thing that bugs me though - and I know this from personal experience. Men don't get the freedom women have when it comes to what you wear on TV. In my weather presenting role at Country99TV I wear the usual male get up - a suit jacket and buttoned shirt. This is the standard male attire when presenting the weather all over the world. Jim Hickey, the TV3 presenters, the Fox News male weather presenters, the CNN male weather presenters - all in the business shirt and jacket, sometimes a tie too. The women seem to have the freedom to wear all sorts of different clothing that go from casual and bright, serious and business-like, and even beach-looking.

So, maybe, on TV anyway, it's the men who are being kept back 50 years? Afterall their attire hasn't really changed since Dougal Stevenson first presented the news here in New Zealand all those decades ago. Ok, maybe we wear less brown jackets and black rimmed glasses with mutton chop sideburns, but certainly male weather presenters - and news readers - wear the same clothing as always, while the women have the freedom to wear a variety of colourful clothes.

Personally I enjoy wearing a suit and shirt for TV...I feel smart in it.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...I don't mind if my female weather presenters are skinny, large, wearing a dress suit or something a little revealing. All I care about is whether they have the intelligence and substance to tell me what is happening with the weather. They could be gorgeous and half naked but at the end of the day I want to be educated and informed. If women are being used purely for their looks then that is definitely wrong, in my view, for something like weather presenting, because even though the weather can be a fun segment it does contain serious information - sometimes with a significant safety message attached. But looks plus talent - I have no problem with that.

I'll end with Fox News - the most conservative channel in America, clearly often right wing, strongly appealing to the Christian right....but has the sexiest female weather and news presenters. And you know what? They rate through the roof.

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