I had a new post for Color Me Rouge published in early December. This post talks about super made-up anchorwomen. Like, drag-queen-made-up anchorwomen. I had noticed that this was A Thing and then read an article in The Atlantic with some theories as to why the women who appear on Fox News, either as anchors or guests or as guests are made up in quite the way they are. I had some thoughts of my own which I explored in my article!
Read The ladies of Fox News get foxy on Color Me Rouge.
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My stepfather watches Fox news almost exclusively, and whenever I pass through the living room while it’s on, I do always notice how made up the female anchors are compared to other news channels. I think you hit the nail on the head in your last paragraph, in tying it to conservative ideals re: women’s appearance. I also think it sort of ties in to the conservative/traditional idea that there’s only “one way” to be a man or a woman, and that a member of X gender HAS to fit precisely into that mold. For Fox, it’s that their women have to be young (or at least younger than their male counterparts), conventionally attractive, and dressed to the nines at all times, full face of makeup and all.
Also: “While this makes sense, I’d argue that the overdone makeup is due to another conservative ideal — the belief that women’s looks are the most important thing about them and that what they have to say is only valid if they are beautiful”.
This just reminded me of how often “news” outlets commented on Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton’s appearances during the 2008 election, especially how the conservative news sources praised Palin for looking like a beauty queen while Hilary was berated for looking so “haggard”. I got so beyond sick of it. I don’t give a shit about how the possible future leader of my country looks, I just want to know how well they can do their damn job.