The Cocktail Dress as Newsworthy

I am a person who loves the news. I watch news shows throughout the day. I switch from channel to channel, including cable, from left leaning to right wing. I am also an executive coach who works with individuals, (many of whom are women) on a variety of topics including executive presence, emotional intelligence, leadership and other behaviors that lead to success.

So you know what I have noticed in the last few years, it doesn’t matter what news show you are watching or what party or belief system you are affiliated with, the female anchors or newscasters or reporters all wear evening or cocktail dresses to give us newsworthy information. How odd it is to view Matt Lauer in a professional long sleeve shirt and suit jacket sitting among 3 women wearing sleeveless dresses, often low cut, mostly emphasizing their breasts and giggling. It is hard to take Natalie Morales seriously wearing an off the shoulder cocktail dress at 7:00 am talking about Ebola or ISIS. Is she a serious journalist or looking for a date?

I used to admire Andrea Mitchel and Joy Reid but they too have succumbed to the cocktail attire. Do they not trust the information on which they are reporting or the intellect of the audience? I expect this from Ann Coulter but not Andrea Mitchell.

Do they think it is mostly men who are watching, therefore sexy is better than serious, that breasts are better than brains?

When did this change? When did wearing cocktail dresses and long dangling earrings become the norm? Men are totally covered up whereas women are exposed.

It is easy to blame this on the success of Fox News and their blonde bimbo newscasters. Yes these smart women purposely accent their bodies and downplay their intellect. We know this is a strategic maneuver to woo the rightwing, male dominated audience. They have said as much and for them it has worked. But MSNBC, CNN and regular broadcast channels ----do these females (or the producers of these shows) think men will listen more if they try to be sexy and smart? If Joe Scarborough is wearing a sweater and the male quests are wearing suits, why is Mika wearing a cocktail dress? Crazy isn’t it?

Now that the colder months are here, I had hoped for more suitable clothing but that has not happened. The women MIGHT wear long sleeve dresses (but not all)  but those dresses still reveal breasts, cleveage and are often too tight for their bodies.

For women who have spent their careers fighting to be taken seriously and not have our male colleagues ogling us, this recent dress change is disheartening. Is the deep V or off the shoulder at 7 AM really necessary? 

In my coaching practice I still emphasize the professional look for all my clients especially females . Too many times their expertise is discounted because of wearing low cut, cleavage exposing clothes that are too tight or too figure revealing. I am hired to help them develop an appropriate style so they can be taken seriously. You don’t need to be dowdy or plain or even modest. You need to be professional and appropriate.

Everywhere they look, competent women are playing up their inner “Barbie” and downplaying their “Hillary”. Fat or skinny, black, white or brown, women in the news are dressing to please the lowest level of male viewers. How sad!