Spectacle, Sexualization, and Gendered Humor: Female Marginalization in American Late-Night Talk Shows

Abstract

This paper examines the systemic marginalization of women in American late-night talk shows (2018–2019), focusing on how spectacle, sexualization, and gendered humor perpetuate patriarchal power structures and cultural hierarchies. Drawing on Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis alongside Conversation Analysis, it investigates selected segments from ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’, ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’, and ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’. The analysis reveals how a range of verbal and non-verbal strategies—such as derisive humor, sexist innuendo, racialized subtext, and the stylized framing of female guests—construct women as objects of spectacle and amusement. These intersecting modes of discourse and performance sustain hierarchical gender relations by positioning women as peripheral contributors within the mediated public sphere. The study contends that such normalized marginalization, veiled as harmless entertainment, demands critical engagement and structural reform to ensure women’s meaningful participation, equitable representation, and discursive agency in broadcast media.