cast actors and actresses who are above average in the looks department. Many famous entertainers such as Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting from The Big Bang Theory, as well as Stephen Amell from Arrow can even considered to be sex symbols. The 2014 Emmy’s, which took place on August 25, crossed the line of sexism by developing and performing a short skit involving Sofia Vergara being spun around on a pedestal for viewers to gawk at.
Vergara stood on the slowly rotating platform to “spruce up” the chairman of the Television Academy, Bruce Rosenblum’s, yearly speech, according to nydailynews.com. The idea that it takes an attractive female to make an audience want to pay attention to a short speech is extremely degrading to women. Rosenblum ended his speech by saying “What truly matters is that we never forget that our success is based on always giving the viewers something compelling to watch,” meanwhile Vergara continued to slowly rotate on the pedestal for all to see.
The Emmy’s skit was immediately criticized for being sexist. “’Modern Family’ wins every award it’s ever nominated for but apparently that’s not enough for Sofia Vergara to be treated as more than a prop,” said Twitter user @samala_prosser.
While it is sad to think of a human being as a prop, the writers of this particular skit essentially showcased Vergara solely because she is hot. The public outrage is definitely understandable, however, Vergara did not consider the skit to be sexist in any way. “I think its absolutely the opposite. It means that somebody can be hot and also be funny and make fun of herself,” Vergara said.
Paul Erlic, junior and marketing major felt the skit may have been sexist, but did not see a problem with it because he doesn’t feel as though it is wrong to showcase human beings who are as close to perfection as you can get. “There is a basic difference between men and women, and so what if they show it on TV? Men get put on pedestals too; Male models promote an unrealistic sense of self as well,” Erlic said.
In response to Rosenblum’s comment about compelling visions for the viewers, Erlic stated that this comment clearly targeted Vergara’s level of sex appeal and good looks. Women could take a statement like this as a compliment, empowering them to be confident in their beauty; alternatively, women could be very offended and interpret Rosenblum’s speech in a way that idealizes the looks of beautiful women, while disrespecting and belittling women who cannot uphold these standards of beauty. However, Erlic also felt as though the skit could have been rewritten in order to make it less sexist. “I thought it was funny, but it could have been rewritten. They could have put the other guy on another pedestal or something,” Erlic said.
While sexism is the primary concern involved with this skit, I feel as though the media regularly exposes the bodies of women, which in turn sexually influences the viewers. Media viewers include many more age groups and audiences than a television station may intend to target. This means children are being influenced at a very young age, depending on what they have access to on their televisions at home.
Viewers who pay constant attention to the perfect bodies and other appealing characteristics of Hollywood’s stars could be idealizing an image that is unattainable for the majority of people in the world. Without Photoshop and personal makeup artists, there is no way that a completely average citizen of the U.S. would be able to emulate the images we see on television today.
Clearly this skit was not received how Vergara and the producers of the Emmy’s intended. Instead of being a funny skit, it was perceived by many as sexist and degrading to women. Hollywood and media in general should strive to lessen their focus on gender and sex appeal as a whole, and attempt to bring new values to the table that can affect viewers in a more positive light.
Elizabeth Rockett can be reached at elizabeth.rockett@spartans.ut.edu