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Entity asks: Is the reason why there is ever only one female judge because women fight on tv?

Think of your favorite reality TV competition show. Now picture the judges’ panel. No matter what show you’re thinking of, odds are, only one woman judge sits on that panel. While the occasional female guest judge might boost this number for an episode or two, rarely does more than one woman hold a permanent position at the judges’ table. Times are changing, notably with Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys both on board as coaches for Season 11 of “The Voice,” but it’s taken us a long time for the entertainment world to get there.

Even when shows had two well-qualified women judges in their talent arsenal, they were seemingly forced to rotate out or “take turns” on the panel. Barbara Corcoran, “Shark” investor on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” has spoken out openly about this issue. While Lori Greiner began appearing as a guest judge on “Shark Tank” in season three, the two did not appear together on the same episode until season five.

Corcoran told New York Post in 2012, “I would love to have another woman on the set. It would be very interesting TV. But I don’t think that is going to happen. The theory is, according to the producers I believe, that the women would argue with one another and fight.”

At the same time that Barbara Corcoran was actively campaigning for a shared episode with Lori Greiner, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey had both signed on to judge “American Idol.” Rumors of their feud began flying in less than two weeks. While the stars dismissed early allegations of a feud, Nicki Minaj later alleged in her MTV Special, “My Truth,” that Carey “admitted that she did not want another female doing the show. She didn’t want somebody else stealing her shine.”

This type of thinking reinforces a harmful narrative that there are only a limited number of spots available for females at the top, and they must compete against one another in order to get one. Inside this narrative, one woman’s value can only be diminished by working with another talented female. One person must always be cast as the diva or villain who feels threatened, and therefore must destroy or impede her competition. This leaves no room for the idea of female collaboration or mutually beneficial working relationships. Unfortunately, this message is extremely pervasive within today’s culture.

When Christina Aguilera returned for season eight of “The Voice,” she replaced Gwen Stefani, who took over the role in season seven, despite Gwen’s desire to stay on the show. An unnamed source told Hollywood Life that “Gwen thinks there should be at least two female coaches on The Voice. She’s always thought that and would be thrilled to be a coach on the show alongside Christina … Now the only question is if Christina wants to share the spotlight with another gorgeous woman?”

The implication here is that Christina would be crazy to allow another talented, beautiful superstar on screen at the same time as her. That could only diminish her power, right?

It’s troubling that this source assumes the decision comes down to Christina’s ego, when the (mostly male) producers would typically be accountable for making these types of major casting decisions.

And indeed, Christina and Gwen rotated seasons with one another for four cycles of the show, a la Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner on “Shark Tank.” “The Voice”’s Executive Producer, Mark Burnett, insists these rotations are “just the way it works out every year.”

When neither Aguilera nor Stefani were cast for season 11 of “The Voice,” tabloids began reporting that the two females were in a feud, citing unnamed sources and industry gossip, although neither star has made public comments disparaging the other. There’s an underlying assumption here that women cannot share the spotlight without engaging in petty cat fights.

Even if Christina is displeased with Gwen’s appearances on season 10 as a mentor for boyfriend Blake Shelton’s team, could we really blame her? She has been working in a system where she has  been forced to take turns – to relinquish her role for an entire season at a time. Wouldn’t you be a little miffed, or at least confused, if all of a  sudden the rules changed? While ideally, women would always make room to support each other, after years of the show’s structure reinforcing that the two cannot share the screen, would Aguilera be so wrong to think she’s entitled to “her season?” Could all of this have been avoided if the producers had allowed the two superstars to share the screen outright? We may get our answer.

For the first time, “The Voice” producers have cast two female judges for the upcoming eleventh season. Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys have both signed on. In a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Miley even addressed the prevalent “cat fight” stereotype. Cyrus explains, “[Alicia and I] were together today, and it’s just a total love fest … I think people, when they put girls on TV, they expect: this is how we’re going to get the ratings because there’s going to be drama and cat fights. They’re thinking we’re going to bring the dramatics to the show, but we’re the total opposite.”

“Shark Tank” Executive Producer, Clay Newbill, might have been one of those who thought two women might be too much drama. He told the New York Post in 2012, “What ends up happening when you have two women is . . .  a very tough room. You have a lot of people with very strong egos. It’s unpredictable. You don’t know if they are going to team up together or fight against each other.” While he also mentioned he would consider having two female judges, it would be several seasons before Corcoran and Greiner shared the screen.

ENTITY’s glad he’s changed his tune. Corcoran told USA Today that she believes “the key that turned the lock was the tremendous amount of pressure they felt from viewers at home.”

With several shows still following the female judge rotation method, it’s time for more change in the entertainment business. Which shows would you love to see with more women judges? Tweet us @Entity_Mag to let us know!

Edited by Ellena Kilgallon
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