My ambivalence toward perfectly beautiful women started when I was sixteen. Girls and boys went “steady” in those days. You wore the boy’s class ring on a chain around your neck. If he was an athlete, he let you wear his letter sweater to the movies. And so it was that my first boyfriend took me to see A Place In The Sun with Elizabeth Taylor. With a sinking heart, I knew I could never be that beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. Which I could never be. I’ve often felt that way about national tv news reporters, including the perfectly groomed Savannah Guthrie of NBC. But now, due to the pandemic, she’s let her hair down, so to speak. Do you like Savannah’s hair?
Back to Elizabeth Taylor. Most sixteen year old girls are pretty, just because they’re young. And yet, at that age, I didn’t appreciate the advantage of youth. Consequently, when I looked in the mirror, I saw a freckled nose, frizzy hair, a pale complexion, and a mouth full of braces. I thought of myself as “skinny,” not thin. There wasn’t a chance in the world I would ever have the cleavage of Elizabeth Taylor in a strapless evening gown. While I loved going to the movies, I often left feeling like a frump in comparison to the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley.
Women in television are held to the same high standards. They must have perfect hair –never gray– and makeup. Smooth complexions. Long, shapely legs under short skirts. Female TV newscaster look far more glamorous than their male counterparts. Popular newsmen can be overweight, bald, pockmarked, have big ears ,wear glasses,, and still land high paying jobs. Although a few, like David Muir, are obviously picked for their hunkiness, it’s not really necessary for a male television reporter to make it to the top because of his good looks.
Covid-19 has changed all that perfection for female reporters. They’ve had to go it on their own. Do their own hair and makeup, put up with unflattering lighting. But I like them more now. Their ordinary hair reminds you of your sister or best friend in college. Everyone made fun of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s flyaway hair one night on Fox News. But I thought it made her appear softer, and down to earth.
Some people are upset about Savannah Guthrie’s hairstyle. One woman tweeted that she ought to be ashamed of herself for not getting her hair done. So, she’s supposed to let some infectious hair dresser breathe on her, just so she can have stiff, beauty parlor hair? I don’t think so. Truth be told, I think she seems more genuine without the perfect hair, clothes and makeup. Do you like Savannah Guthrie’s and Jeanine Pirro’s hair? I do.
