August 18, 2008
Daily Chicks versus Dicks
Where the Boys Are
After my initial assignment to monitor Colbert/Stewart for "dick" jokes, I've continued watching the shows closely for the last month or so. This has not been a burden, of course, but the enforced ritual has brought something to my attention: The Daily Show really needs more female correspondents--and writers, for that matter.
I originally wrote that the "dick" jokes were not political but upon reflection, I need to revise that statement slightly. They are not political jokes, i.e. jokes intending a political result. But they are political in that they are accurately reflecting the field of politics as it now stands, namely multi-culti and dick-centric. In fact, the show as a whole is reproducing the trends of the election with startling accuracy.
I know Samantha Bee is on maternity leave, but it strikes me as a little creepy that the only female correspondent has disappeared right along with Hillary. I don't think I've seen Bee since her brilliantly incisive, SATC-inspired report on whether we were ready for a woman president--currently at the top of the "Ten Funniest Moments" list, I might add.
By losing Bee, the show has (unwittingly, let's hope) reproduced the depressing-for-feminists backlash created by the primaries. But the similarities don't end there. In June, The Daily Show officially inducted its first black correspondent (the hilarious Larry Wilmore is technically only a "contributor"). I find it more than a little odd that they added their first frequently-appearing black cast member (and a youthful-looking one at that) just as Obama's candidacy really took off. The new addition, Wyatt Cenac, is a fine and very funny participant in the Show. He's so new, in fact, that he's only recently been added to the correspondents' list, and his picture is not yet included in the header. Adding Cenac to the count brings the total number of officially-designated "correspondents" to six: five guys (of various ethnicities) and one woman. Diversity, yes. Gender equality, no.
I'm not accusing the Show of affirmative action, exactly. I'm sure that Cenac got the job on his own merits, since he is hilarious. But then again, Bee has revealed that her own hire was an "affirmative action": in one interview she said they were "basically looking for a woman." This is because comedy remains a male-dominated field, no doubt for plenty of complex social reasons. Because of this, I don't think it's entirely the Show's fault. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were quantitatively less female applicants for Show-related jobs.
