Social justice warriors are at it again, this time taking aim at the popular United Kingdom game show University Challenge because not a single female made it to the final. A game in the mold of Jeopardy, University Challenge airs on the BBC that features college students from the UK’s top schools.
Not only are the social justice warriors peeved that no female made it to the final, they’re peeved because the production company allowed all-male teams to even compete. Such a travesty.
Wolfson College Equality and Diversity Officer Azita Chellappoo opined that “university quizzing societies can be ‘very hostile to women…” Who knew such a title even existed.
She noted:
I think partly it is because the quizzing community [such as university quizzing societies] can often be quite hostile to women, or at the very least not particularly welcoming spaces…Also, the women that do appear on the show often face a lot of sexist commentary on social media. There's often a lot of discussion about their looks, for example.
Chellappoo also thought quiz shows should instill a quota for the amount of females on the show. Here’s more from The Daily Mail:
‘I think quotas would be a really good idea, or if not formal quotas, guidelines at the very least. I don’t think all-male teams should be allowed on the show.
‘Greater representation on University Challenge is an important part of encouraging more women to join the quizzing scene, and to showcase the intellectual capacities of women at UK universities.’
Whilst universities, or individual colleges in the case of Oxbridge, are responsible for selecting their own teams, ITV Studios only selects 28 teams to take part, and therefore a vetting process does take place.
Viewers have threatened to boycott the show over the final being an all-male contest for the third time in five years.
The Balliol team declined a request for comment, and Wolfson’s hugely popular captain Eric Monkman said he had ‘no comments’ on the matter.
A University Challenge spokesperson said: ‘Each team is determined by the universities themselves and whilst we do encourage them to reflect the diversity of their student population ultimately each university has their own team selection process.’
If Chellappoo wanted to cry sexism, she was going after it the wrong one. Maybe she should focus on getting more women to try out for the show and earning their place in a finale the old fashioned way, instead of being given a place on stage just because they are a female.
