BBC news coverage defined #Eilidh Child (silver, 400m, Commonwealth Games) as 'Scotland's pin-up girl'. The Daily Mail reported on the new female members of the Cabinet in terms of the outfits they were wearing as they took on their new roles. And this morning's Daily Mail describes #Baroness Warsi's resignation in terms of 'flounces out'.
How sad it is, that after all these years, major discourses in our society still insist on defining women by their gender rather than by their skills, or achievements. And still use cheap tricks to attempt to undermine, such as a verb like 'flounces' to denigrate; and a reductive description such as 'pin-up girl', to shrink an outstanding achievement to the level of how 'pretty' a world-class athlete is.
We say this not to become embroiled in the petty political sniping that the pseudo-tabloid Mail indulges in (well ok a tiny weeny bit!) but to call on our major discourses to strive to weed out this kind of poor representation that persists. For what kind of example is this to set for our children? As teachers, surely we have a duty to demonstrate in our classrooms and in our Selves, a society where our children have freedom of choice; where those choices, and our children's achievements, are not defined or reduced by denigration of the female.
So yes, its a return to firefighters, not firemen. And humankind, not mankind. And not dinner ladies. And not postmen...
...and if you're not happy with that, you can flounce out.
No comments:
Post a Comment