About to explode in a fierce ball of anger
Right. Now everyone needs to sit down and take a big, deep breath. Because the Times (I blame Murdoch) has just made me want to go ballistic. It's a little article, calling for Men's Lib.
That's right. Men's Lib. Because men, you see, are second class citizens. Abused, under-rated, made fools of and generally in need of our help and support. Whilst, of course, earning more money and carrying around an invisible bag of privilige that is so big and so invisible that they appear to have forgotten about it.. The whole thing has left a massively bad taste in my mouth, reminding me of other such ridiculous comments such as how all "english" people are being pushed out by foreigners leaving the "indigenous population" as an underclass. Sure thing....
You see, as Penny Red aptly puts it. Just because bad stuff happens to privileged groups, doesn't stop them from being privileged. Additionally, the "man as second class citizen" whether as foolish foil in an advert or crumpet in a TV series is notable because of its exceptionalism. The vast majority of protrayals of men in the media is still as normative (i.e. the male is the norm, the female is the exception) sensible, fully clothed, serious and taken seriously. Just as a few court cases for sexism in the city will not overturn the lad's culture of the finance district, nor will a smattering of remarks in the office suddenly create an entire generation of men who work in typing pools and preen for the attention of dominant females. One male torso bared on a perfume ad does not suddenly make all the men in the world into consumables dedicated only for the delectation of women. Trust me on this..
But you cannot have your cake and eat it. And you certainly can't sit on top of a pile of hundreds of years of privilige and power, still alive and kicking in every aspect of society and also ask for my sympathy. Here's why. You cannot say that Page 3 is ok and an acceptable part of daily life and then complain that topless men on a poster are somehow unfair. You can't have the Pirelli calendar without Gucci underwear ads. You can't compliment a woman on her legs as you walk to work and then feel threatened when a woman says you have a nice bum. After all, she's only being "friendly"... The shoe is not so comfy on the other foot, is it? Especially with those high heels. But hey, they are meant to make you empowered! Yeah! That's it - see those boys on the billboard flashing their tight jeans - those jeans will make you empowered. Uh-huh.
Is turnabout fair play? No, because then we will be in a terrible eye-for-an-eye situation and we'll all be horribly messed up. But there is a balance to be struck. I am not saying that it's ok for men to be abused, to be made to feel powerless or unhappy because of thoughtless comments or actions. Of course it isn't. Neither am I saying that if a man feels he is subject to sexual harrassment he should have no legal (or social) recourse - of course he should. That's part of the programme. That no-one should feel hampered by their gender at all.
That's right. Men's Lib. Because men, you see, are second class citizens. Abused, under-rated, made fools of and generally in need of our help and support. Whilst, of course, earning more money and carrying around an invisible bag of privilige that is so big and so invisible that they appear to have forgotten about it.. The whole thing has left a massively bad taste in my mouth, reminding me of other such ridiculous comments such as how all "english" people are being pushed out by foreigners leaving the "indigenous population" as an underclass. Sure thing....
You see, as Penny Red aptly puts it. Just because bad stuff happens to privileged groups, doesn't stop them from being privileged. Additionally, the "man as second class citizen" whether as foolish foil in an advert or crumpet in a TV series is notable because of its exceptionalism. The vast majority of protrayals of men in the media is still as normative (i.e. the male is the norm, the female is the exception) sensible, fully clothed, serious and taken seriously. Just as a few court cases for sexism in the city will not overturn the lad's culture of the finance district, nor will a smattering of remarks in the office suddenly create an entire generation of men who work in typing pools and preen for the attention of dominant females. One male torso bared on a perfume ad does not suddenly make all the men in the world into consumables dedicated only for the delectation of women. Trust me on this..
But you cannot have your cake and eat it. And you certainly can't sit on top of a pile of hundreds of years of privilige and power, still alive and kicking in every aspect of society and also ask for my sympathy. Here's why. You cannot say that Page 3 is ok and an acceptable part of daily life and then complain that topless men on a poster are somehow unfair. You can't have the Pirelli calendar without Gucci underwear ads. You can't compliment a woman on her legs as you walk to work and then feel threatened when a woman says you have a nice bum. After all, she's only being "friendly"... The shoe is not so comfy on the other foot, is it? Especially with those high heels. But hey, they are meant to make you empowered! Yeah! That's it - see those boys on the billboard flashing their tight jeans - those jeans will make you empowered. Uh-huh.
Is turnabout fair play? No, because then we will be in a terrible eye-for-an-eye situation and we'll all be horribly messed up. But there is a balance to be struck. I am not saying that it's ok for men to be abused, to be made to feel powerless or unhappy because of thoughtless comments or actions. Of course it isn't. Neither am I saying that if a man feels he is subject to sexual harrassment he should have no legal (or social) recourse - of course he should. That's part of the programme. That no-one should feel hampered by their gender at all.