--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, when I got started on…" description: "\"You know, when I got started on television in the '80s, you would go to the costume department, and if you were a female they put you into a skirt. And..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/melissa-leo-9231_bag_you-know-when-i-got-started-on-televisio_1815521.jpg" --- # You know, when I got started on television in the '80s… ![“You know, when I got started on television in the '80s, you would go to the costume department, and if you were a female they put you into a skirt. And you had a pocketbook, usually a shoulder bag.” quote by Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/melissa-leo-9231_bag_you-know-when-i-got-started-on-televisio_1815521.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/melissa-leo-9231_bag_you-know-when-i-got-started-on-televisio_1815521.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/melissa-leo-9231_bag_you-know-when-i-got-started-on-televisio_1815521.jpg) > “You know, when I got started on television in the '80s, you would go to the costume department, and if you were a female they put you into a skirt. And you had a pocketbook, usually a shoulder bag.” [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early TV costuming forced gendered clothing, reflecting industry bias and expectations for women. **In simple terms:** TV costuming forced women into skirts, showing gender bias. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge gender stereotypes in media. Themes gender bias media industry fashion career women's roles Mood reflective critical determined Type observational cultural critique When to use this quote - casting decisions - wardrobe planning - career development - advocacy for equality Key Concepts gender roles industry standards representation Questions to Reflect On - How can productions ensure gender-neutral costuming? - What steps can individuals take to challenge such norms? A Different Perspective Progress has been made, but bias persists in many sectors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Pocketbook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pocketbook/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) ## Related quotes > [Television in the '80s was very limited. There was no Food Network. When I opened Spago, I had the kitchen in the dining hall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-puck/television-in-the-80s-was-very-limited-there-was-no-food-network-when/) [Wolfgang Puck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-puck/) > [Television in the '80s was very limited. 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S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) > [I started a newspaper business in North Texas and I started a quinceanera media company... so when I wanted to get into broadcasting I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/i-started-a-newspaper-business-in-north-texas-and-i-started-a/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) > [When we started in television, there was that magic box in the corner of the room, and 'Oh my gosh - look what it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/when-we-started-in-television-there-was-that-magic-box-in-the-corner/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [I was about 26 or 27 and it was imperative that I make a living right away and it's hard to make a living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-was-about-26-or-27-and-it-was-imperative-that-i-make-a-living-right/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [I started on television, and on sitcoms, and loved them, but then they sort of seemed to be going through sort of an ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alan-basche/i-started-on-television-and-on-sitcoms-and-loved-them-but-then-they/) [David Alan Basche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alan-basche/) ## More by Melissa Leo > [My mom was a '70s mom. She paved a road that no one had yet walked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/my-mom-was-a-70s-mom-she-paved-a-road-that-no-one-had-yet-walked/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I love acting. I really do. I think that's maybe the one thing that is known about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-love-acting-i-really-do-i-think-that-s-maybe-the-one-thing-that-is/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [You have to let the costume inform you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/you-have-to-let-the-costume-inform-you/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [That's what acting is. You're not alone. It's reacting. That's what we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/that-s-what-acting-is-you-re-not-alone-it-s-reacting-that-s-what-we-do/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I'm interested in what the fans think, in what would make them feel connected to the Wayward Pines they had grown to love. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-m-interested-in-what-the-fans-think-in-what-would-make-them-feel/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I always wanted to play a nun, and to play the Reverend Mother was a thrill of a lifetime for me. 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As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ourselves and others, that's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/well-i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-feminist-at-all-as-soon-as-we-start/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [There were not enough women like Kay on TV and now there are none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/there-were-not-enough-women-like-kay-on-tv-and-now-there-are-none/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I think this notion of acting and glamour is getting in everybody's way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-think-this-notion-of-acting-and-glamour-is-getting-in-everybody-s/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > ["I'm going to show you I haven't given you permission because clearly you're not grown up enough to understand that, not having given you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-m-going-to-show-you-i-haven-t-given-you-permission-because-clearly/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [Why do we have to pretend we're not in the sales game? I didn't sign on to be a salesman. I signed on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/why-do-we-have-to-pretend-we-re-not-in-the-sales-game-i-didn-t-sign/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I got none. I mean, I have no religion. I like the quote unquote 'Virgin Mary,' but no Catholicism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-got-none-i-mean-i-have-no-religion-i-like-the-quote-unquote-virgin/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [The director is the captain of the ship, without question. No matter what their talent or energy level is, everyone on the crew has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/the-director-is-the-captain-of-the-ship-without-question-no-matter/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) [Explore all 74 Melissa Leo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) ## More Bag quotes > [“I wasn’t a nerd, mind you, but I’d spent a lot of my youth studying Epics, so I’d had limited experience with social interaction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-wasn-t-a-nerd-mind-you-but-i-d-spent-a-lot-of-my-youth-studying/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [If I forgot to put something on, and I have to wear a trash bag, I'm just like, 'I'm gonna rock a trash bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rippon/if-i-forgot-to-put-something-on-and-i-have-to-wear-a-trash-bag-i-m/) [Adam Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rippon/) > [I've never been impressed by somebody who came in with a crocodile bag, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/i-ve-never-been-impressed-by-somebody-who-came-in-with-a-crocodile/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [“Don't keep looking for "something" in the bag of "nothing". 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The night before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-am-very-very-old-fashioned-and-clumsy-i-use-those-long-reporter/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I'm never without my personalised Anya Hindmarch diary - I keep my schedule online, too, but my diary is always in my bag. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerin-lauder/i-m-never-without-my-personalised-anya-hindmarch-diary-i-keep-my/) [Aerin Lauder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerin-lauder/) > [The SF genre, of course, is really an organically evolved, marketplace-determined, idiosyncratic grab bag of themes and signifiers and characters and icons and gadgets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/the-sf-genre-of-course-is-really-an-organically-evolved-marketplace/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [My left eye went when I was young. 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