Does The Daily Show Have a Woman Problem?

The Daily Show has long been, shamelessly, one of my late night pleasures, though I watch only segments online now since moving to Korea and sacrificing cable. I've been watching it off and on since Craig Kilborn was the host, which really gives me some perspective for this post. It has been a progressive pet of humor that sometimes gets a pass for non-progressive behavior on the grounds that it pokes at those we in social justice push against. The Daily Show, and Jon Stewart, have long been a mostly refreshing bite of comedic news that breaks away from the grind of talking head monotony.

But, as Irin Carmon at Jezebel has recently pointed out, The Daily Show does have one clear area of trouble that seems to be glossed over darned near always. They seem to have a woman problem, and while neither I nor Carmon are personally calling Stewart "a sexist prick," both because I do love him, and because I don't hold him personally accountable in totality (though he is an executive producer), I do wish that late night television overall would take a few more steps to address the needs of their majority women viewers.

The Daily Show has two women writers, hired on for less than a year. That is more than the bulk of late night television, but that is like saying that at eight years old my kid is almost raised now. They have had one regular woman correspondent in seven years, and as wonderful and funny as I find Samantha Bee, I find that pretty abysmal. Recently, in a smashingly brilliant segment — in which Latoya Peterson of Racialicious aptly notes shows the fine line between stereotype and satire — they tried out another woman correspondent, the wickedly talented Olivia Munn. Munn is also an Asian woman, and it would give me great delight to see not only an add-on of a woman, but a non-white woman to a wildly popular show such as The Daily Show. I recently saw she did a second segment, so I hope it works out. But two women correspondents does not a woman-friendly late-night environment make.

Strangely, while The Daily Show is catching all of this attention, I have to wonder why its spin-off (and another that I shamelessly also enjoy), The Colbert Report, gets more of a pass. The fact that its eponymous host is playing a character, so that it can be called ironic when he is offensive to his progressive audience, seems to allow the show to fly under the radar of many progressive critics. Colbert has only one woman writer, and no regular woman correspondent to my knowledge. There are, however: Meg and Charlene, women Stephen, in character of course, harasses and stalks. It's ironic, so it's funny!

Someone on Stewart's staff noticed that the audience is paying attention to their lack of representation. Perhaps that will be a start to furthering what the producers already know: that they need more women on their staff. Perhaps it will also be the start of fostering less hostile work environments for women in late night comedy (I'm looking at you David Letterman).

Perhaps. But I am not holding my breath.

Photo Credit: Belltown Messenger