The presets on a car radio's controls are coveted spots for radio stations. It's key revenue, and it symbolizes trust between the listener and producer.
Y102 is no longer a pre-set in my car after the John and Tommy Morning Show released a sexist, degrading and unnecessary segment about women.
On Jan. 22 at about 7:20 a.m., John Garrett and Tommy Fields went on the air to talk about the nationally-broadcasted Women's March. Talking about the March, however, was simply a mechanism to dive into a comedy segment about cleaning.
This segment, "News for Women: A Look At News Affecting Women Only," started with a guide to mopping – because to John Garrett and Tommy Fields, that's the only thing women care about.
"Didn't you say that women do a great job at vacuuming?" Garrett asked. "You just wished they'd vacuum before the game started?"
Sadly, this segment is not the only example of poorly written, sexist content.
"The John and Tommy Show is brought to you by 'SOS Soap Pads,"' a voice resounds during the segment. "Help her clean your oven faster with SOS Soap Pads."
On the website, the segment is labeled "Sexist News Sponsors." This is one of many fake advertisements used as a comedy feature.
The "News for Women" segment was aired out of Montgomery on WHHY-FM two days after women in Montgomery took to the streets for the Southern Poverty Law Center's march.
Those women marching for their rights and recognition could have been listeners. Those women see themselves as much more than maids or jokes to be made.
Garrett and Fields are an example of a larger problem. They are part of a section of men who still believe that women are placed on this planet to serve the needs of those with more obtrusive genitals.
A shift in history has made it clear that women are no longer the housekeepers, but instead, they are the breadwinners and the do-gooders and the wave-makers. Ideals like those that Garrett and Fields spouted for all to hear are now archaic, unwanted and will not be accepted.
A career in media is a career in working for the public, working to ensure that they are aware of what is transpiring around them. Talk-show comedians may not have the same standards or ethics as journalists, but they are at the mercy of someone's ability to change the station.
Listeners will choose between quality content or two men using women's aspirations as a segue into a punch line. Between the poorly written lines of "comedy," it was clear that Garrett, the ringleader of the bit, knew how his words would come off — how they would sting.
Garrett knows he is being offensive, and he wants to be exactly that. He touches on battles women have been fighting for years — the "stay in the kitchen and out of the way of my television" mentality and the "your sole purpose is to comfort and please me" job description.
And this – his awareness – is what cuts deeper. He is fully aware that some women will take offense to the segment, and he revels in it.
He is tailoring his words to a certain demographic of men who have chosen, while surrounded with a new world of empowered women, that women will remain stagnant. There is no creativity in the bit. There is only a sad history of pulling women along and dragging them under.
They cling to their antiquated views of women and spew their demeaning comments on their platforms – in this case, radio – in a desperate attempt to maintain the control over women that men have had for centuries.
Garrett, your humor is not smart, and it is not clever. It wouldn't win awards and you won't make it further than where you are right now. It represents a sad history and an even sicker future of men who refuse to admit that their words are bigoted, sexist and unwelcome.
For someone who relies on the public's trust as a form of livelihood, be careful who you choose to willingly alienate. It's clear to everyone that women are finished being the punching bags, the floor mats and the jokes.
Garrett and Fields, do anything else. Tell knock-knock jokes. Do spit-takes. Read real news for a change. What you have going on right now will make your careers fade with time, and do you really want to be remembered this way?
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