A Pink Stinks blog entry explains how young girls are manipulated for marketing purposes. In particular they object to the way Dora is being made to grow up into a 'tween'. Dora is a cartoon character who so far has presented some kind of active role model for little girls.
Comments are interesting and there is a petition you can sign here
Showing posts with label sexist assumptions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sexist assumptions. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Naked old ladies of the world, unite!
I bought a copy of the Big Issue this morning. It advertises today’s
Naked Bike Ride ‘to protest against car culture and oil dependency.’
I have no problem with that …, but then it adds
‘herds of naked cyclists will be scaring old ladies around Britain’.
My hackles rose – hang on folks, I bet some of those ‘old ladies’ will be joining in the ride! Less of the sexism and ageism in your 'humour', please.
(Copied from my post on our women's blog... )
At any event the thought of it got me out, fully clothed, and on a borrowed bike, to hone my urban cycling skills for forty minutes this afternoon.
Naked Bike Ride ‘to protest against car culture and oil dependency.’
I have no problem with that …, but then it adds
‘herds of naked cyclists will be scaring old ladies around Britain’.
My hackles rose – hang on folks, I bet some of those ‘old ladies’ will be joining in the ride! Less of the sexism and ageism in your 'humour', please.
(Copied from my post on our women's blog... )
At any event the thought of it got me out, fully clothed, and on a borrowed bike, to hone my urban cycling skills for forty minutes this afternoon.
I couldn't persuade Tilly the dog to take up naked cycling.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Why Women should rule the World - Dee Dee Myers
The Guardian review by Sharon Krum of a new book 'Why Women should rule the World' by Dee Dee Myers looks interesting. No, she's not banishing men from positions of power. I'm tagging it to remind myself of the ideas put forward. More later.
OK. Long post - condensed from the article above .
Dee Dee Myers was the White House’s first female press secretary. A comment made by her daughter of nursery school age inspired the book. The child said that only boys could become President of the USA, though girls could be presidents’ wives. In fact women are still under-represented in public life and account for only17% of members of national parliaments.
Myers is not interested in knocking men, but in investigating why so few women take powerful positions alongside them. Hillary Clinton’s quest for office has exposed wide-spread sexism. Though not all Clinton’s problems have been gender-related, misogynists have had their moments during her campaign, heckling her with signs that read “Iron my Shirt”, for instance. Clinton has also found herself faced with the classic dilemma: women in power are expected to act like men, but when they do they are accused of being unlikeable.
Myers feels it is important to acknowledge certain differences between the sexes, for example, according to recent research into male and female brains, women are hard-wired to defuse conflict. “I think many differences are rooted in biology and reinforced through culture,” says Myers, “ If you say men and women are the same and if male behaviour is the norm, we will never be as good at being men as men are.”
She finds that while sporting prowess is considered a key indicator of leadership potential in the US, bringing up children - which builds skills such as diplomacy, team-playing and flexibility - is undervalued.
However, it is not just sexism that keeps women out of power. At times, she says, women undermine themselves. “We don’t raise our hands for promotions, we don’t take credit for our accomplishments.”
Researching her book, Myers interviewed a number of successful women, including the late Anita Roddick, who said that women are not comfortable with the concept of power. “They see what it’s done to men and they want no bloody part of it,” Roddick said. When Myers asked women if they considered themselves powerful, they tended to reject the term. “But if you asked them if they like the ability to make a difference, they loved that.”
She is optimistic that younger women will step on to the public stage, motivated partly by seeing other females in power. “Women in senior jobs still represent all womankind and aren’t allowed to fail quite as much [as men], but I am encouraged to see women are being elected in Chile, Argentina, Liberia, Ireland.” She pauses briefly. “More is more.” •
Why Women Should Rule the World, by Dee Dee Myers, is published by HarperCollins on April 7, priced £14.99
Condensed from Sharon Krum's article. I hope I have not misrepresented her in any way.
OK. Long post - condensed from the article above .
Dee Dee Myers was the White House’s first female press secretary. A comment made by her daughter of nursery school age inspired the book. The child said that only boys could become President of the USA, though girls could be presidents’ wives. In fact women are still under-represented in public life and account for only17% of members of national parliaments.
Myers is not interested in knocking men, but in investigating why so few women take powerful positions alongside them. Hillary Clinton’s quest for office has exposed wide-spread sexism. Though not all Clinton’s problems have been gender-related, misogynists have had their moments during her campaign, heckling her with signs that read “Iron my Shirt”, for instance. Clinton has also found herself faced with the classic dilemma: women in power are expected to act like men, but when they do they are accused of being unlikeable.
Myers feels it is important to acknowledge certain differences between the sexes, for example, according to recent research into male and female brains, women are hard-wired to defuse conflict. “I think many differences are rooted in biology and reinforced through culture,” says Myers, “ If you say men and women are the same and if male behaviour is the norm, we will never be as good at being men as men are.”
She finds that while sporting prowess is considered a key indicator of leadership potential in the US, bringing up children - which builds skills such as diplomacy, team-playing and flexibility - is undervalued.
However, it is not just sexism that keeps women out of power. At times, she says, women undermine themselves. “We don’t raise our hands for promotions, we don’t take credit for our accomplishments.”
Researching her book, Myers interviewed a number of successful women, including the late Anita Roddick, who said that women are not comfortable with the concept of power. “They see what it’s done to men and they want no bloody part of it,” Roddick said. When Myers asked women if they considered themselves powerful, they tended to reject the term. “But if you asked them if they like the ability to make a difference, they loved that.”
She is optimistic that younger women will step on to the public stage, motivated partly by seeing other females in power. “Women in senior jobs still represent all womankind and aren’t allowed to fail quite as much [as men], but I am encouraged to see women are being elected in Chile, Argentina, Liberia, Ireland.” She pauses briefly. “More is more.” •
Why Women Should Rule the World, by Dee Dee Myers, is published by HarperCollins on April 7, priced £14.99
Condensed from Sharon Krum's article. I hope I have not misrepresented her in any way.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Men are funnier than women?
Oh no they're not! Oh yes they are! Or are they?
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3276235.ece
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7153584.stm
Apparently when Prof Shuster ( a dermatologist) unicyles around his town, more men than women make comments, and more younger men than older ones. Men's comments are usually humorous ( or jeering) such as "Lost yer wheel, mate?" "Couldn't you afford the other one?" and similar gems. Women are more admiring and encouraging.
The prof puts this down to the fact that the young men regard him as a rival in the sex stakes, and to cover their aggression, use 'humour'. From this , according to the articles quoted, he makes the equation testosterone = humour.
The humour involved is hardly startling or original, and not terribly funny in my opinion. Of course, as a 60-year-old female, I guess I lack the requisite testosterone to appreciate or make such jokes.
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3276235.ece
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7153584.stm
Apparently when Prof Shuster ( a dermatologist) unicyles around his town, more men than women make comments, and more younger men than older ones. Men's comments are usually humorous ( or jeering) such as "Lost yer wheel, mate?" "Couldn't you afford the other one?" and similar gems. Women are more admiring and encouraging.
The prof puts this down to the fact that the young men regard him as a rival in the sex stakes, and to cover their aggression, use 'humour'. From this , according to the articles quoted, he makes the equation testosterone = humour.
The humour involved is hardly startling or original, and not terribly funny in my opinion. Of course, as a 60-year-old female, I guess I lack the requisite testosterone to appreciate or make such jokes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)