Australian News Anchor Wears The Same Suit Everyday For A Year To Prove A Point About Sexism In The Workplace

(Source) Karl Stefanovic might have been excited to reveal he had been wearing the same suit for a year, but he probably wasn’t expecting the tsunami of social media support that comes from tackling sexism head on. Stefanovic revealed this weekend he had worn the same outfit every day on air in what became a year-long protest-prank against the double standards his female colleagues face.

The Today Show host told Fairfax Media he came up with the idea while reflecting on the constant criticism and unsolicited advice received by his co-host Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Armytage, the host of rival breakfast program Sunrise. “I’ve worn the same suit on air for a year – except for a couple of times because of circumstance – to make a point,” Stefanovic said.  “Women are judged much more harshly and keenly for what they do, what they say and what they wear.” “I’m judged on my interviews, my appalling sense of humour – on how I do my job, basically. Whereas women are quite often judged on what they’re wearing or how their hair is … that’s [what I wanted to test].”

Stefanovic described the grand total of zero complaints or comments about his navy suit as evidence of the double standards for female presenters, and by extension, all women. Author and outspoken feminist commentator Van Badham described Stefanovic’s suit prank as part of a growing movement of men making meaningful contributions to feminism. “This act is not trivial. It’s an example of a genuine human empathy that recognises when conditions are unfair and acts upon it,” Ms Badham told Fairfax Media. “Yeah, it’s a suit. But it’s one human being showing another that they have come to empathise with their disadvantage, and this is actually the recognition that exists in the heart of all meaningful social change.”

OH SHIT! You just got your ass Feminist Punk’d Australia. Nothing gets the blood going like a good old fashioned social change prank. Gotcha suckers, didn’t even know you were a pig until crazy Karl pointed it out with his suit experiment!

Now I consider myself a dumb person but even I can understand what the point of this is. No one said anything about my clothes but my co-anchor has to dress pretty ever day. Good point Karl! One I and everyone else in the world already knew. If your co-anchor wore a trash bag on live television instead of a dress people would be PISSED, you shoved it in our face nicely. But here’s my question. Isn’t this sort of cheating? You changed your shirt and tie every day, that’s all anyone notices anyway. Not trying to discredit your social experiment but a different shirt and tie changes a suit, everyone in the world knows that. Just look at your suits

None of those are the same. It’s like a Magic Eye book, they’re the same but they’re really not (also I just found out I’m slightly color blind). My point is this, I have friends who work in corporate America who will wear the same suit multiple times in a week but change the shirt and tie. That’s just called being lazy with your dry cleaning. You want to make a point? You wear the same thing every day with no changes and then see if our pigheaded brains notice. Like me for instance, see these jeans

Have been wearing them everyday for like 3 years. Don’t even wash them more than once or twice a month. You want to talk about social change, well there ya go Karl. I’m basically Susan B. Anthony over here and no one says shit. Walk a mile in my stinky jeans one day and then try to talk to me about Feminism. I got to work everyday in these things and no one ever notices, it’s super fucked up but that’s just the society we live in and feminists like me thumb our nose at Johnny Come Lately Feminists like you.