I remember back in 2011 when PokerNews decided that it was going to scour the universe for a brand new host. It angered me because the advert for the job stated: “Casting Call: PokerNews Hostess Hunt.” I thought that it was sexist.
For a while I really wanted that job. I aspire to work harder than anyone within my radius; I am creative, funny, charismatic, likeable and approachable. I have a gift to be able to get people to do things that they don’t want to do, I am a great interviewer, have presence, have a good knowledge and understanding of poker, always go the extra mile, am not that ugly and am willing to learn almost anything.
Those characteristics embodied everything that PokerNews wanted in a hostess, with one or two added requirements that weren’t on the job description. They wanted a woman, and that woman had to look good. This is strictly my view and it’s not based on any inside knowledge.
Eventually, they hired Laura Cornelius, who incidentally possesses all of the attributes shown above, and she continues to do an excellent job for them. So is it really ‘sexist’ because they didn’t want to hire a man? I don’t think that it is, and I also think that in this instances the female look is as much a quality as going that extra mile. I just prefer it when companies are more open about what they want and why, as it defuses any angst.
In the end, it wasn’t the word ‘hostess’ that deterred me from applying for the job, it was just a lack of desire, however, it’s does engender a very interesting point about the way in which our stereotypical minds work when it comes to the pink and blue rungs of a career ladder.
PokerNews are once again on the hunt for a hostess presenter, and a thread has appeared on 2+2 where the poker community is having their say on what type of person would best suit the role.
“Is it pretty much an unwritten guarantee that this job will be given to a girl?” States the poster There is a Light.
Every smoking hot poker presenter fans the flame of the new biological determinism, and every male poker presenter is lost from our minds forever. Since the day we were squeezed into our pink or blue jumpsuits, we have been continually bombarded with a volley of beliefs on the roles of the sexes that make it almost impossible not to be influenced by them.
When we think poker player we think male and when we think poker presenter we think female. The gloves fit so in go those two fingers. And yet if all you know from someone is their sex, then how on earth are you going to determine anything about their intellectual capability and emotional stability?
Believe it or not, women are both intelligent and not so intelligent, and there are men that have jawbones chiseled out of sexy granite and men who have never touched their jawbones. I am not here to argue that men and women are alike, but what I am trying to say is the differences between the two genders, in terms of intellect and emotions are not as wide as the stereotypical view would have you think.
These stereotypes have become the rules that forge business decisions. They not only keep people in line, but they keep people safe. Who is going to be the brave one and put a male host in front of the camera? Perish the thought. It’s not expected anyway. Let’s just stick to the rules. Presenting is the color pink and it was Molly Ringwald that was pretty in pink, not James Spader.
There was a time when the smartest minds in the world thought that men were smarter than women because we had larger brains. Then somebody pointed out that an elephant was therefore smarter than a man. I think it was Alan Alda that said, ‘assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them every once in a while, or your light won’t come in.’
The stereotypical view is that men are supposed to be behind the camera and women are supposed to be out in front, and yet I believe this is slowly changing…well in poker anyway. During my time in PokerNews, I have worked with two amazingly talented writers in Dana Immanuel and Jen Mason; worked with a top quality female videographer in Tennille Olsen, and an eye-catching photographer in Jayne Furman; and in her time with Bodog, and now CalvinAyre, Tatjana Pasalic works with equal gusto in front of and behind the camera.
The stereotypes are even being broken in the commentary booth. Vanessa Selbst delivering cracking commentary during the PartyPoker Premier League V, leading the way for Maria Ho to become the first female tour commentator in the business with her role on the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT).
That leaves the spotlight a few feet from the camera, and interestingly out of the first seven applicants videos, men have submitted four of them. Of those seven videos the one that stands out is that of a woman. Is this the stereotypical mindset floating to the surface? Not at all. The video submitted by Sarah Albright is funny, interesting, absorbing and most of all she has put a lot of thought and hard work into it. In short, he really wants the job in a bad way, and that’s no bad thing.
For the rest of the group, let me enlighten you. There is a clue in the job description when it says they want somebody who is willing to work really hard. And you think putting together some old segments of yesterday fits that criteria how? Sorry boys, I don’t care if you come dressed in pink, you’ve just pulled up at the first hurdle.
There are three positions up for grabs, and it will be interesting to see if a male fills one of them, but do I think that it will happen? The short answer is no. Dropping the ‘hostess’ word means they want to entertain the thought, but who doesn’t love a beautiful woman? Just read through the interviews we have done in the female perspective on poker and almost everyone acknowledges that beauty will play some part. A stereotypical view, a fact of life or just more sexist thoughts from modern man?
I’ll let you decide.
