Vixen Let’s get quizzical
The Chase’s Vixen believes women are under-represented in the quizzing world – and she wants to do something about it.
The retro-styled quizzer, whose real name is Jenny Ryan, recently swapped general knowledge for song lyrics as she stars in The X Factor: Celebrity, alongside the likes of reality
TV star Megan McKenna, journalist Martin Bashir, and talkshow host Ricki Lake.
Ryan has had a patchy run on the reality show. She wowed the judges (and the internet) with her first performance of
Queen’s Somebody to Love, but was eliminated before the live performing rounds. However, after heavy criticism from viewers, she was asked to rejoin the competition as it began the live, public-voting rounds.
This week, she will compete in the competition’s semifinal.
But when asked about the presence of women in pub quizzes and the trivia world, she says many find following that path just as rocky.
‘‘I do think women are underrepresented in the quiz world and I don’t think it’s anything to do with ability or capability of being good at quizzes,’’ she says.
‘‘I think there are a lot of social and societal things that stop women participating – and not just in quizzing.’’
Ryan, 37, suggests women often fail to put themselves – and their interests – first, including things like quizzing.
‘‘Maybe it’s because a lot of women are conscious of their time – they know how valuable their time is to other people.
‘‘[It] is such an old-fashioned thing, but it’s so ingrained into us. I think a lot of guys will put
their own pleasure and their own hobby first, and women probably tend to think about other people before their own hobby. It’s a big, sweeping statement, but I think in general terms, that’s how [society] is.’’
She says she is slowly starting to see more women join local quiz teams and, through her role on The Chase, she wants to prove being smart is cool.
‘‘It’s something I feel responsible for, encouraging women and girls to press on with their education, to put themselves out there and don’t be afraid of looking clever and showing off how smart you are.
‘‘There should be more of a Hermione effect: be the smart girl in the room and answer the question, don’t be afraid to show you are a smarty pants because it’s not a bad thing!’’
As The Vixen, Ryan is one of two women quizzers on the hit show that sees contestants work as a team to outsmart one of the five chasers through individual and then a team round of general knowledge questions.
Having competed on shows including University Challenge, Mastermind and The Weakest Link, the woman nicknamed ‘‘The Bolton Brainiac’’ started writing questions for the show’s very first episode, before joining the cast six years later in 2015.
These days, Ryan is the subject of tabloid news stories, and recognised around the world. In New Zealand, The Chase constantly tops the ratings in its standard 5pm timeslot.
She says visiting her Kiwi fans is hopefully on the cards this year.
Jenny Ryan, AKA The Vixen, stars in The Chase, 5pm daily on TVNZ 1 and The X Factor: Celebrity, 7.30pm, Fridays and Saturdays on TVNZ 1.