The Double Standard Women Face In Television, According To Padma Lakshmi
TV personality, actor, and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi is one inspiring woman. She has achieved a lot during her time in the industry. She told Bon Appétit that she was motivated by strong women in her family such as her mum and her grandmother. "Those two women, beyond teaching me how to cook and both being excellent cooks, were huge influences on my life," she said. "They were both very independent women who tried to use their time wisely."
Lakshmi also knows how tricky it can be to be a woman in the television industry. She gave an example: When she was trying to get her show "Taste the Nation" up and running, she found herself struggling to succeed. She said, "I've been on TV for a really long time and it took me until now to get a second show that is completely mine and of my creation." She told Vanity Fair in a candid interview that it was really hard to get others to approve her ideas.
Being a woman in the industry is tough
Per Vanity Fair, Padma Lakshmi knows that being a woman on television is hard. She had to brace herself for several rejections when she was working on "Taste the Nation." Lakshmi was so let down by these experiences that she could not help questioning herself and wondering whether the concept was simply not good enough for the masses. For one, the TV personality knows that her personal preferences are unconventional. She said, "When I say other people turned us down ... I'm talking about seven different networks. It was very painful at the time. There was a moment when I was like, 'Maybe nobody but me wants a show like this.'"
Luckily, things changed for the better when Hulu accepted the show's premise. Lakshmi was especially impressed by how much freedom she got to implement her vision for "Taste the Nation." The star pointed out that the expectations are incredibly different for men and women in the TV industry. Lakshmi added that she is often perceived differently in the media compared to her male peers, and there is a lot of emphasis placed on her physical appearance, something that her male counterparts don't seem to have to go through.
She's just grateful that things were different on "Taste the Nation." Lakshmi remarked, "I'm glad I didn't have to wear high heels and tight dresses. I'm glad I got to curse." More power to Padma Lakshmi!