‘Hautesteppers 3.0’: Mayanti Langer Says People Focused More On The Length Of Her Skirt Than The Extent Of Her Work
Even today, in the 21st century, there are some professions which are so much male-dominated that the presence of a woman is not accepted easily. In fact, it gets to a point where the work of the woman gets disregarded completely and the focus is on other things – for instance, what she is wearing, how she looks, her hairstyle, makeup, etc. One such field is sports – where even the ones who are bringing the news to you are men. But that changed with Mandira Bedi and then Mayanti Langer. But if you think that their journey was an easy one, well the jokes on you because it sure wasn’t. How do I know this? Well, because Hauterrfly recently got a chance to have a conversation with Mayanti Langer in our segment, Hautesteppers 3.0 and she revealed what it was like to be the only girl in the room. The top-notch sports presenter spoke about how people outside spoke more about what she wears than focus on how she does her work.
In the latest episode of Hauterrfly’s Hautesteppers, Mayanti Langer, the sports presenter that covered many high-pressure games, opened up about what it was like to be the only woman in such a male-dominated field. She said that even though her colleagues and people around her took her seriously and gave her responsibility, it was the people outside that could not look past how short her skirt was or how she was looking.
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Mayanti Langer said that she was inspired watching Mandira Bedi who did such an amazing job being a sports host – especially during the cricket World Cup. But people back then just downgraded her work and spoke largely about her outfits and sarees she wore. And that is something that followed her as well.
Also Read: “365 Days Without You”: Mandira Bedi Remembers Late Husband Raj Kaushal On First Death Anniversary
Speaking about her own experience as a sports presenter, Mayanti Langer said, “Every time I was on screen, it was always about what I was wearing – how short my skirts were or how I looked or how I was too overweight for the big screen and I should lose some weight. Those were the sort of things that I faced.” She goes on to say that she never felt that judgement from her network or the people she worked with; in fact, they always gave her a sense of responsibility that she shared with her male colleagues.
Also Read: Hautesteppers 3.0: Aditi Mittal Talks About How Successful Women Tend To Have Smaller Dating Pools!
However, it wasn’t the case with the outside world. Remembering India vs Pakistan cricket match in 2017, Mayanti Langer says she presented the high-pressure game of the Champions Trophy and there was an article that got published that spoke about what she was wearing rather than highlighting the fact that it was a woman fronting the game. What was even more disheartening to her was the fact that the article was written by another woman.
Mayanti Langer concludes her experience of being in the male-dominated field by saying that irrespective of the gender it is never about the clothes but rather about how you do your job. Watch the entire video below:
