Unless my arms, in their bare form, hinder the delivery of accurate news, they're not going anywhere.
Boxing Day: the gloves are off ;) Last week... I got an email - from a viewer- telling me my sleeveless attire on-air was unprofessional
Look: I've worked damn hard for these arms!
This is obviously not the first time I've received an email like that -and this issue has come up for women in news far too frequently.
What I loved about the email: "I know that how you dress is of little importance compared with how you read the news and do other on-air activities associated with the role of CBC Host."
You know what I do the night before work? Read news articles and background on guests we're having on the show. Watch and listen to the most up to date newscasts. Email with producers about what stories are important to cover.
You know what I don't do? Contemplate what I'm going to wear the next day. Because that viewer is right - it is of little importance compared to how I do my job. I do put care into making sure there's nothing offensive in what I'm wearing. I think that is important. My makeup artists always ask me "what are we wearing today?" My answer is the same every time: "I don't know."
I think we have a very important job and duty to our viewers. Appearance is part of that job and I enjoy that aspect of work too - I realize it's a visual medium... but people need to stop trying to take ownership of what women look like on-air. If I'm doing my job well? What's the problem? Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome. ALWAYS! But nitpicking my bare arms, length of my hair, style of my dress... none of that seems particularly constructive... am I right? Let's do better in 2019.