--- title: Sexist Jeopardy Category What Women Want description: Women on Twitter find What Women Want category to be sexist canonical: https://time.com/3449871/what-women-want-jeopardy-category/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-30T18:34:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:04.859Z og:title: "Sexist" Jeopardy! Category 'What Women Want' Sparks Backlash on Twitter og:description: It's not the first time the show's perception of women has come into question og:url: https://time.com/3449871/what-women-want-jeopardy-category/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: "Sexist" Jeopardy! Category 'What Women Want' Sparks Backlash on Twitter twitter:description: It's not the first time the show's perception of women has come into question twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # _Jeopardy!_ Accused of Sexism Over 'What Women Want' Category > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. Worth Your Time is a curated guide to the culture worth knowing, from the biggest conversations of the moment to the books, shows, ideas and discoveries worth your attention. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 30, 2014 6:34 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 30, 2014 6:34 PM UTC Last night’s _Jeopardy!_ featured a contentious “What Women Want” category that prompted answers like “What is a vacuum cleaner?” “What is Pilates?” and “What are Levi’s?”. Angry tweets from female viewers, including the actress and activist Sophia Bush, said the show stereotyped women as only being interested in cleaning, working out, and buying clothes: .[@Jeopardy](https://twitter.com/Jeopardy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw)? For a "smart" show, you just got srsly stupid RT @DJRumspringa: ARE YOU SERIOUS [@Jeopardy](https://twitter.com/Jeopardy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw)?? [pic.twitter.com/LEZcSw8K5A](http://t.co/LEZcSw8K5A) [#SexismIsUgly](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SexismIsUgly?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) — Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) [September 29, 2014](https://twitter.com/SophiaBush/status/516732751694012416?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) Dear [@Jeopardy](https://twitter.com/Jeopardy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw): your "What Women Want" category tonight is the definition of sexism. how are women supposed to advance in life if (cont) — c h i s a r a m (@chischisschissy) [September 29, 2014](https://twitter.com/chischisschissy/status/516726457683701760?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) .[@jeopardy](https://twitter.com/Jeopardy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) (cont)...we're constantly reduced to drinking sleepytime tea, doing pilates, and cleaning the house? is this real life?? [#howdare](https://twitter.com/hashtag/howdare?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) — c h i s a r a m (@chischisschissy) [September 29, 2014](https://twitter.com/chischisschissy/status/516726586989871105?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) [@jeopardy](https://twitter.com/Jeopardy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) Glad to see there are other viewers- women & men- equally as appalled as I over your sexist "What Women Want" category tonight — April (@CordyQ45) [September 29, 2014](https://twitter.com/CordyQ45/status/516730947300261888?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) It is not the first time some critics have called _Jeopardy!_ sexist. Earlier this year, _Salon_ argued host Alex Trebek [expresses surprise when women win](http://www.salon.com/2014/03/10/alex%5Ftrebeks%5Fjeopardy%5Fgender%5Fobsession/), but doesn’t when men do, and blamed the show’s producers for pitting one woman against two men in multiple episodes to showcase a “battle of the sexes.” And another _Salon_ writer pointed out more [men make up answers](http://www.salon.com/2013/09/29/what%5Fis%5Fsexism%5Falex%5Fclose%5Fthe%5Fjeopardy%5Fgender%5Fgap/) than women after tracking every category and answer in 18 episodes for an op-ed last year. This ongoing debate and the recent Twitter backlash could make producers reconsider whether a category like “What Women Want” is really what _Jeopardy!_ viewers want. \[H/t [Mashable](http://mashable.com/2014/09/30/jeopardy-what-women-want-sexism/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3449871/what-women-want-jeopardy-category/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3449871/what-women-want-jeopardy-category/"},"headline":"Jeopardy! Accused of Sexism Over 'What Women Want' Category","datePublished":"2014-09-30T18:34:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:04.859Z","description":"It was definitely not what Jeopardy's female viewers wanted","url":"https://time.com/3449871/what-women-want-jeopardy-category/","keywords":["Living","Social Media"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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