BBC Radio 4's Today programme is the way my day begins - I wake up when my radio
alarm decides it is time for me to start listening. It's good in a number of
ways - I get to keep abreast of the news, and it is excellent therapy to be
exposed to rational, articulate people who do not curse or communicate in txt-speak.
Unfortunately the content is not necessarily going to improve my blood
pressure. Never mind. Each new day comes with no guarantees - just be glad you
lived to see it. To misquote Forrest Gump, life is like a box of chocolates -
it is bad for your teeth and you don't like most of the centres.
This morning I am, of course, mostly impressed
by the continuing adventures of Messrs Trump and Kim. I have been keeping a
gentle eye on the betting odds against The
Tronald completing his term of office - just for academic interest, you understand.
Now I am wondering what sort of price I could get on none of us being alive by
the end of his term of office. Problem, as someone will point out, is that I
would have difficulty collecting my winnings.
To brighten things up a bit, I stayed with
the programme this morning, and was confronted by a spokesperson (female) from
a fine single-interest group called Let
Clothes Be Clothes - they are committed to campaigning against what they term
gender stereotyping, and their target area is eliminating the distinction
between boys' and girls' clothes. She was celebrating the fact that John Lewis,
the very famous and successful UK department store, have removed the signs from
their children's clothes - all clothes they sell for children aged up to 14 are
now just clothes. Now there's a mighty step forward. I have a 6-foot-tall, 14
year old son who would be prepared to headbutt you in the mouth if you
suggested that he may no longer wear boys' clothing, and I do not believe this
is entirely due to stereotyping or conditioning to which we have unreasoningly subjected
him.
Initially I listened to the item to see if it
were a wind-up, or if someone was about to pour a pail of water over the
spokesperson's head, but - no - it was for real.
Now, of course I disapprove of stereotyping
or prejudicial behaviour of any sort - at heart I even disapprove of my own
stereotyping of women with irritating voices on the radio early in the morning,
especially women who have the answer to where the human race has been going
wrong for some thousands of years.
I don't really care what people wear - if
they are comfortable with how they look and with the reaction it produces in
others, and if it doesn't upset anyone else or break any laws then that's fine.
If a medical examination indicates that an individual is male but he chooses to
wear girls' clothes that is fine too, but I would be happier if he bought them
in a girls' clothes department rather than having all the rest of us pretend
that there is no such thing.
For my liking, this is all too soon after
some other worthy on early morning radio was enthusing about the need to
encourage young children to reject their default gender if they wanted - there
will be a queue of volunteers to help them, counsel them - maybe sign them up?
Perhaps individual councils or schools will score points according to how many
defenceless children they can trap into making some blood-curdling mistake?
I fear I am not selling myself well here,
but I am worried. Coping with individual preferences and exceptional life choices
is positive and necessary; making such minority lifestyles into a new
mainstream, and/or forcing the rest of us to change to fit in - that's maybe
not so positive. If there is a serious market demand for unisex clothing then
that's a different thing - let's have shops that cater for it. That's well and
good.
Imagine: you have a 12-year-old son and you
wish to buy him some new shirts for school. Seems straightforward enough. OK -
where will you buy them? If he is forced to buy a gender-free, non-stereotyped "child's"
shirt, which way will it button? How will it line up with his school uniform
regs? What other issues have not been thought through? How much trouble are we
saving up for the future in mental illnesses and young people being unable to
adjust to society - not being able to understand what they now are, what they
should relate to? Frankly, I do not care how much of a personal triumph the
squeaky woman on the radio felt this is - I think it is a mess.
The Mad Padre recently summed this up with
his customary breathtaking precision. I shall attempt to give a resume of what
he said, though I am by nature more verbose and less precise. The problem with
so-called political correctness, he said, is that it is nominally aimed at
increasing tolerance, yet in itself it is completely intolerant; it is decreed
absolutely that you will show and offer tolerance to such and such a group or
personal status, and here are the strict, inarguable terms and conditions, and
here is a list of the things we shall do to you if we decide you have been
intolerant.
I'm keeping a bucket of water handy.
You do indeed have a very valid point. As does Robbie. I missed this particular item on Radio 4 (I think I'm glad about that), which I listen to often online since the World Service gave the axe to so many of its more interesting programs in the 90s and early 2000s in favor of the dreaded rolling news format.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
Best Regards,
Stokes
I'm sure the irritating news items are not genuine - I don't know how they do it, but somehow these interviews are faked just to wind me up in the morning. Many of the stories are far too stupid to be real. Now that I've realised this, it doesn't bother me quite so much...
DeleteOh brave new world- not!
ReplyDeleteNo - this re-labelling of kids' clothes by J Lewis may represent some measure of payback for thousands of years of oppression - you can't knock it.
DeleteI don't really care what signs are put up or if clothes are set out next to each other on the shelf, hopefully the unlabelled boys & girls jeans won't get frisky at night when the lights are out if they are near each other.
DeleteNo, what I object to is the habit of increasing the price of pink things compared to identical blue things whether toys or shampoo or jeans etc for no other reason than because they can.
Sorry but i think its a load of old bollox!
ReplyDeleteYou may be onto something here Ray - that may be the phrase I was groping for. Thank you.
DeleteRay cuts to the chase and states it admirably.. (again!)... people are scared to tell people they're being a knob/twat'ish because they're scared of being labelled xxxx'ist (name your label)... everyone these days has to be whiter than white, right'er on than anyone else... knob'ery.... :o)
DeleteSteve - there is much in what you say, though your comment may be seen as a little knobbist by some.
Delete